Parents of a Micronation
by Velgamidragon
Summary: COMPLETED. The resumed intimacy of Austria and Hungary in the latter half of the duration of the Soviet Union results in the birth of a new nation! Or... rather, a micronation. Little Kugelmugel certaintly wasn't born into an easy familial situation what with his parents being divorced and his mother's boss restricting Austria from visiting every so often because of the economy.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TIMA! ! ! ! Okay, yeah, um... this story ended up getting too long for a oneshot, soooo... you'll be receiving it in pieces?**

**Warning: Lots of headcanons! Some of them will be explained at the end. Some of the headcanons are described within the actual chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Hetalia belongs to Himaruya-san, I just play around with the characters in relation to their history.**

* * *

Parents of a Micronation

_early May, 1981_

"Ugghh," Hungary groaned to herself as she curled up in a tight ball around herself, hoping in vain that it would ease her queasy stomach.

She couldn't imagine why she'd be getting sick like this in the mornings. She knew it wasn't food poisoning; she didn't even think that nations could suffer from food poisoning, not in the traditional sense anyway (and only if one was stupid enough to actually _swallow_ Britain's hellspawn of cooking could one be poisoned by it). Besides, it'd been going on too many mornings now to be food poisoning anyway. Her economy wasn't top-notch, no, but it was better than it had been earlier in the second half of the century, so that wasn't it either. Now if she'd felt like she did now following her divorce, it'd make perfect sense. Those decades. Those horrible, lonely, decades were probably some of the worst in her entire life, and that was saying something. She gave an involuntary shudder as the memories came haunting back to her. Torn apart like a piece of cloth by everyone around her, ravaged, sick as a dog, and completely alone, not even her Revolutions or the Black Plague were as bad as those years. Years that scarred her and left her unable to recuperate no matter what she tried to alleviate her suffering. So no... these sickness attacks were nothing like those black years. Nothing at all.

She tried to sit up, to get out of bed and do something useful to get better, but the moment she did so, she groaned in agony and collapsed back down on the bed, her face contorted in pain and breathing through her teeth. No, her stomach wasn't happy with her doing that yet. Her green eyes flickered open and she gazed blankly at the ceiling. She wished Austria were here. Or that she was there in Vienna; either was fine with her, just so long as she had him near. But she knew she couldn't, they were divorced and she was under communist rule, though she was better off than most (she suspected – even the thought of it made her squirm uncomfortably – that Russia liked her in some bizarre, twisted way because of this fact), so she couldn't see him as often as she liked. That didn't mean she didn't miss him though.

Finally, her stomach was calming down at last. Hopefully she'd be able to eat and keep it down. It annoyed her slightly that the first thing that came to mind for food was baumkuchen. That wasn't healthy as a breakfast food, even if it was good, and besides, it was German. She wasn't restricted in traveling as much as the other countries in the Eastern bloc were, but that didn't mean she had free reign either and East Germany's – really Prussia's – situation was a particularly tenuous one among them. That, and though she had the recipe for baumkuchen, she didn't have many of the ingredients for it, and they weren't all that cheap either.

She stood up and dressed with rapidity; she'd wasted enough time laying about in bed as it was and she had stuff to do, like attending to her dogs. She already knew that Bajnok would be guarding her door, loyal protector that he was since she was a child, and that Vitéz would be curled up by the hearth with little Vlach, acting the pseudo-mother that she was. She knew that feeling, having been a pseudo-mother herself to Italy and Holy Rome before she'd had her own child, Liechtenstein, but _why _did her sweet Vizsla have to get so attached to that Bucovinan Shepherd pup that damn Romanian had given her out of spite? Well, she couldn't really fault the dog for that. Romania shouldn't have given her the pup in the first place. Oh well. And if she knew her Magyar agár, then he would have already heard her wake up and would be waiting for her in the kitchen for food, the glutton. Finally finished dressing for the day, she left the room and smiled at her Kuvasz's predictable vigilance and gave him a quick scratch behind the ear to signal a job well-done, before heading off to make breakfast for herself and give the dogs theirs.

Nothing fancy for any of them, even for herself, but it was good food all the same and her dogs always made her feel good in the mornings. Vlach could make the mornings a pain when he pined for Vitéz, but she forgave him because he was still just a puppy; he would outgrow those behaviors in due time and work for her as well as any Hungarian dog. Watching the dogs eat though, it allowed her mind the freedom to wander and think about her own diet. She found it odd how much she was craving sweet things recently. She loved sweet things every so often, but she rather preferred spicy things with lots of paprika to really wake a person up in the mornings (it was more effective and less addictive than coffee); Austria was the one with the sweet tooth. It wasn't only the sweet stuff though; she'd been feeling particularly keen to have German food all week, though she'd suppressed those cravings because of their current impracticality. Initially, she'd just put it down to her missing Austria, but she was getting sick every morning too...

Hungary's brow furrowed, anxious as to the direction her thoughts were going, and she didn't even notice how she'd gripped the edge of the table so hard her knuckles were starting to turn white. She hadn't gotten sick in the mornings, but she remembered that the last time she'd had such strong cravings for food that wasn't her own or the result of a passing fancy, she'd been... pregnant with Liechtenstein... Slowly, her bright green eyes slid down to gaze at her flat stomach, as if expecting it to suddenly pop out like a balloon, and she cautiously placed both her hands on her stomach with tender, maternal affection. Could it be... that she was pregnant again?

The first time had been not only a stressful affair, but an embarrassing one. Since female nations did not have a menstrual cycle like humans did, and she wasn't really sick at all when pregnant with Liechtenstein, _and _she'd never been pregnant before, she'd had no idea, no real way of knowing until three months into her pregnancy when she'd finally started to show and she'd noticed in mid-June. Even then, she hadn't known for sure that she was getting pregnant, just gaining weight in a weird way; it was Austria who had told her that she carried his child and that he'd known for a month already ever since asking Elisabeth Christine about her apparently-strange behavior and extreme diet change, though he'd had no idea how to bring up the topic in normal conversation. She couldn't blame him, but it had been embarrassing that he'd had to _tell her_, something that the woman should be telling her man, not the other way around.

But she'd been pregnant once before now. She knew what it was like, and after having thought about it, she was pretty sure that she was pregnant again. In that instant, she was both joyful and angry. Joyful for a second child, Austria's second child – would Liechtenstein have a new brother or sister! And angry at Austria for not being there for her to tell him or knowing when she would get to see him again; he was so unpredictable these days! (as if it was really his fault). Well, at least she knew she'd get to see him _long_ before the end of the year came; she had to content herself with that for the time being. She couldn't wait to surprise him with the good news! It'd been a long time since she'd had someone to take care of and she missed it; it's what she'd spent most of her adult life doing after all.

* * *

_I have not yet done a fic regarding the full details of my headcanon on Liechtenstein, but I HAVE thought about it extensively. Also, I believe that the diet changes would be SUPER extreme for pregnant nations to better reflect the type of food that the baby-to-be nation will be most exposed to/eat because of geography._

_Hungary has dogs, this is canon fact, however, I do not believe that she would name all of them after Romania because she wouldn't want to insult her prized ancient dog breeds (seriously, Hungarian dog breeds are some of the most ancient bloodlines). So I picked three of the Hungarian dog breeds that I felt that she would have had/needed most when she was kid. The canon picture that I saw of Hungary with [one of] her dog was why I decided the fourth one would be a Bucovinian Shepherd, because the drawing looked to match that one the most and it's a Romanian dog breed, so I can just imagine Hungary calling the puppy 'Vlach' so as not to have to call him anything original._

_Kuvasz (male) - name is Bajnok  
Viszla (female) - name is Vitéz  
Magyar agár (male) - name is Istók  
Bucovinian Shepherd (male) - name is Vlach_

_Yes, I think that in some strange way of his, Russia does like Hungary to some extent (for at least the fact that Hungary was the best-off country in the Eastern bloc)._

_Elisabeth Christine was the mother of Maria Theresa, so yeah._


	2. Chapter 2

_mid-June, 1981_

"Austria! Austria, kedvesem (1), you took too long to come back!" Hungary shouted with delight as she ran into her ex's arms and hugged him ferociously, a hug that was not _lightly_ returned on his part either. It had been nearly two months since he'd left her, which normally wasn't such a big deal except that she had something important to tell him and it was better to tell him in person, so she was somewhat more contrite than usual.

"I wasn't away all _that_ long, Hungary, but I apologize. This was the soonest I could come and see you this time."

"But I don't even have a way to contact you if I want to! Can't you send me your eagle?"

"Hungary, you know I can't. Arnwald's not as young as he used to be; the journey would tax him greatly if not straight up kill him."

"I know," she sighed, "ever since our divorce when the Habsburgs fell."

His palm brushed up her arm and squeezed her shoulder gently in reassurance. "What's done is done, Hungary. We can't change it. That crossroad of our lives has long since passed us by."

"True. Doesn't keep me from wondering how differently things would be if we hadn't lost though," Hungary said with a sigh of remembrance, referring back to the first World War. So much _wouldn't_ have happened if the war had turned out differently, for the better in a lot of things that had happened this century. "But again, that's past history," she said with a brief shake of her head to reorient back on the present, "I had something important that I needed to tell you! Do you know how _difficult_ it is to have something heavy weighing on your mind and no way of being able to contact you to tell you about it?"

"Russia's letting you go?" Austria asked hopefully, even with the extreme unlikelihood of that being the case.

Hungary gave a hearty, rather masculine guffaw, "I wish! But no, it's nothing politically-related."

"Then I give up, libeling (2). What important thing do you have to tell me?"

Oh, she was going to enjoy this! "I'm pregnant again!"

His eyes widened in shock and he stared at her, mouth agape, "Wait, you're what?! But how?!"

Ah, he was too much fun to tease when he got like this! "Well, Austria, when a man and a woman love each other very much-"

"That's not what I meant, you wretched woman!" Austria protested with a vigorous shake of his head. "It's just... Hungary, you're amazing," he finally finished with that loving smile of his as he gathered her in his arms and kissed her.

"Oh, I'm amazing now?" Hungary giggled, pulling back a little, not ready to give in to him quite so quickly, "Just one sentence ago, you were calling me 'wretched'!"

"You know I love you anyways," he responded readily enough and then smirked, "At least I'm not the one telling you this time."

"Oh, shut up you," she growled in mock-indignation, but this time she let him kiss her properly.

She smiled into the kiss, knowing full well that her ex was still confused and she completely understood why too. The two times she'd gotten pregnant now had been complete accidents and nothing new seemed possible of being born within nine short months both times. The House of Liechtenstein had been around _centuries_ longer than the nearly-completely-sovereign Principality of Liechtenstein, their daughter. Similarly, they had no idea what this new child growing within her could represent either.

Austria pulled away first and she watched his right hand travel down her torso to her stomach where their baby was growing within her. "Why can't we ever do this properly?" he murmured and she just had to laugh at him. Though they'd only been married for fifty-one years, it certainly seemed like she was completely incapable of getting pregnant while married; and she rather thought she liked it that way if she had to choose one over the other. Children over marriage _any_day!

()()()()()()()

_mid-August, 1981_

"I don't know... I don't really trust it."

"It seems to work well enough on human women."

"Yes, but human _and_ nation women have gotten along just fine for thousands of years without it too, szerelmem (3). Besides, would ultrasound even _work_ on a female country?" Hungary asked her ex with a dry look.

Austria merely smiled in response, "Hungary, you're the first female country who's gotten pregnant since ultrasound was developed. We have absolutely no way of knowing."

"Austria, though I appreciate you looking out for me, I can't help but feel that it would not only be expensive, but an absolute waste as well. I had Liechtenstein just fine without knowing that she was a girl, I don't need to know what this child's gender is before it's born either," Hungary told him patiently from where she sat on the sofa near the hearth as she absently stroked Vitéz's brown head which was lying contentedly on her lap. She then gave a half-smile. "Rather a pity that ultrasound was only developed after the gender of children in the womb wasn't so immensely important to Europe anymore."

Austria gave a sharp nod. "Would have saved some hassle too, instead of having to wait nine months only to end up disappointed."

"Are you saying Liechtenstein was a disappointment?!" Hungary shouted suddenly, startling poor Vitéz and setting off Bajnok into a chorus of heavy booming barks at the one who'd upset his mistress.

"Hungary! No, not at all! I was speaking for my bosses, not for me!" Austria protested, not used to his ex-wife exploding like that, even if she was a fireball of emotion, and he knelt before her in supplication, holding her hands tightly clasped within his own, "Remember? Remember how disappointed Charles VI was that he never had a surviving son? And how upset Maria Theresa was when her first few children were daughters? That's what I'm talking about. Remember the day when our Liech was born and how absolutely precious she was, so young and so new in the world; how you laughed at how carefully I held her and how much I cried and couldn't stop crying. I could never be, and have never been, disappointed in our Liech, Hungary. And I know you know that."

Austria wasn't usually so eloquent with his feelings, even for her, she knew that well; but it calmed her down immensely. Now if he'd been talking about some other woman that _wasn't_ his daughter, she knew she'd be jealous and extremely pissed off at him to boot.

"You Germans and your families," she sighed and leaned forward to rest her forehead against his.

"Yes, family is _very_ important to us, liebling," he replied and she knew he was smiling.

* * *

_(1) kedvesem (Hungarian) – my dear_

_(2) liebling (German) – darling_

_(3) szerelmem (Hungarian) – my love_

_Um, hey guys! Remember in the Austrian War of Succession and the Seven Years' War strip (not the revised one, but the old one) that Austria has an eagle?! Yeah, it's a black eagle, gorgeous bird, and so I decided to remind everyone that Prussia isn't the only one who has a bird (EXCEPT THE AUSTRIA'S IS HELLA COOLER! ! ! XD) I don't remember how I came up with the name, but I think they were two Old Germanic words that I put together._

_YES! I finally got explain HOW I have my headcanon of Liechtenstein being born in 1719 even though the House of Liechtenstein has existed for far longer than that! 8D_

_And yes, ultrasound did exist for medical purpose back in 1981 (I looked this up, so I know it's legit), but there's no way that Hungary would ever bother with something like that. :P_

_Remember that Charles VI was Maria Theresa's father (lol, can anyone tell that I really like stuff centered on Maria Theresa? XP) Also, Charles VI and Elisabeth Christine _did_ have a son before Maria Theresa was even born, but I don't think he even survived the first year, and then they never had another son again._


	3. Chapter 3

_late September, 1981_

"Oh, thank you _so _much, kedvesem!" Hungary gushed at all the jackets and thick blankets that Austria had managed to bring over for the winter that was quickly setting in. "Don't just stand there looking blank! Get in, get in! I've got the fire going and I don't want the cold getting in." She all but lifted him off the ground, she pulled him so hard and slammed the door shut with a loud thud. "Phew, much better. How are you doing, love?" she asked finally and kissed his cheeks in traditional greeting.

"I'm doing okay. The main question is how are _you_ doing?" Austria asked her sternly.

"Oh, same old, I suppose," she said half-heartedly with an attempt at her normal brilliant smile before she tried to turn away, but Austria wasn't buying it.

"Magyarország," (1) Austria sighed as he grabbed Hungary's hand and pulled her into his embrace, a feat made slightly difficult by her distinctively-protruding stomach, nearly six months into her pregnancy. "What's wrong, Hungary, you're looking worse for wear than you have for most of the year. You're not getting sick, are you? Russia isn't giving you a hard time, is he? Does he even know about...?"

"Hm," she nodded into his chest. "Yes, he knows; he came over near the end of last month, but he didn't really seem mad... On the contrary, he looked quite happy- and not in that 'I'm-smiling-but-I'm-still-going-to-beat-you-sense less' kind of way either, but genuinely pleased. And he said something… kinda odd too... about Liech."

Austria frowned thoughtfully. "Liech? What about her?"

"I don't... quite remember his exact words, but it was something like 'I hope that Liechtenstein will be a good big sister', and I remember it because he looked kinda sad when he said that. To be honest, I'm shocked that he even remembered Liechtenstein all the way back from 1848."

"The Russian Monument Liechtenstein. She gave refuge to the 1st Russian National Army of the German Wehrmacht which consisted of about 500 men," Austria answered gravely, "I don't know if Russia managed to worm his way among those men or not, but she was the only one of us to resist the Soviet Union's extradition demands. Even if Russia wasn't one of the men she sheltered during that time, I'm sure that Russia would remember a country, tiny as she is, resisting him like that."

Hungary smiled with pride at their daughter's strength and courage to stand up against the Soviet Union and couldn't help but feel that she got that hidden strength from her apa (2). "Our baby's grown-up so much. If this one's gonna be anything like its older sister, then I don't think I have to be so concerned over why Russia was happy about me having another one of your children."

"That is a good point though. He's been mighty generous as of late, but we still can't trust him fully. He and America are still at each other's throats and carrying the world along as their hostages. I really don't fancy a Rapunzel-type story playing out with our baby because we got careless."

"That was a terrible analogy, édesem (3)," Hungary said dryly.

"Which one?" Austria asked.

"Both," Hungary said, sticking her tongue out at him.

"I personally thought them both clever, but all hilarity aside; we must consider the issue fully."

"Ngnh, can we sit down on the sofa then before we talk about this?" Hungary asked plaintively, "I'm feeling a bit woozy all of a sudden."

"Alright, alright," Austria accepted and he scooped her up into his arms and off her feet to carry her to the hearth. She hadn't asked for it, but she didn't need to, not when she was in this kind of state. He gently laid his Hungarian woman on the couch long-ways and covered her with one of the blankets he brought to prevent her from getting cold. "Better?"

"Much!" Hungary agreed with a true, gorgeous smile on her face as she beamed up at him. "The only benefit I think that Russia might imagine is if the baby turns out to represent something important, but I can't imagine what particular _piece_ of me Russia would be happy with being separate."

"Or a piece of _me_," Austria put in, "What's your diet been like?"

"Well, my diet _wants_ to have nothing, but sweet stuff, my pastry-loving fool," Hungary said with a scowl and tapped Austria on the nose, "Especially heavy on the baumkuchen, and also just German food in general, _but_ with this kind of economy and limited access, I haven't exactly been able to satisfy those cravings as fully as I had when I was pregnant with Liechtenstein. This kid is definitely yours."

"There was never any question of that, was there?" Austria asked with a slight raise of his eyebrow, "But I think we can both agree it probably means I'm the one who's going to lose something. I wonder what."

"I've actually thought for a while that it might be Burgenland," Hungary suggested, "I mean, it's right on our borders and the land's even got some special history. It really wouldn't surprise me that much if this child turned out to be Burgenland, but..." her voice trailed off and she looked away.

"I know," Austria said softly and he squeezed one of her hands gently. "It would be awful if our child had to represent land that was a former minefield."

()()()()()()()

_30 October, 1981_

It was about 1500 hours when Austria arrived at Hungary's house and he was surprised, to say the least, when he stepped up to the threshold of Hungary's house and he hadn't yet been bombarded by either the woman herself, or Istók, who sometimes liked to fill in for his mistress when she wasn't available. Austria wasn't sure whether he should be relieved or worried. Knocking on the door sent up Bajnok's booming welcome though, so that must mean that everything was okay. As such, he had absolutely no qualms about opening the door and entering without permission. In fact, he could already hear Hungary just from the other room.

"Bajnok, what is it? Who's arri- Wait, it's the 30th, isn't it?!" she exclaimed and slipped out from the kitchen passage into the foyer with an expectant look that broke into a broad grin the moment she saw him. "Yes! It _is_ the 30th, you're here!" Hungary squealed, like she hadn't seen him at all this year and jumped at him with a bone-crushing hug, despite her heavier weight.

"Of course I'm here, Hungary," Austria admonished, "How many years have we been doing this now? I'd never forget the promise we made."

The promise to never leave each other alone for the _entire_ day of the anniversary of their divorce: 31 October.

"You better not, Mister, or you'll find yourself confronted with one of my favorite weapons," she threatened with a smirk.

"What mercy!"

"_Quite _merciful, thank you," Hungary declared with a triumphant smile and gave him another quick kiss, "Oh, by the way, I think I have something for you to see. This way."

Hungary led him by the hand into the kitchen and the first thing he noticed was the big white Kuvasz sitting happily on top of something – or rather someone – sprawled across the floor. Somebody with white hair.

"Bajnok, off. Good boy," she ordered and after the dog had moved, she grabbed the man by the scruff of his jacket collar and held him up to as high as her shoulders, an impressive, but not unexpected feat for a woman of her strength. "Is this yours?" and her voice was strained with her anger.

It was Prussia (well, East Germany to be technical), unconscious and with a large bump on his head from where she'd smacked him, probably not undeservedly, with her skillet. It was probably a sad fact of his life that this didn't surprise him in the least.

"What'd the fool do this time?" Austria asked with a resigned sigh, knowing that the list of possible reasons was quite a long one.

"Said the exact same thing the first time he saw me pregnant _last _time," she growled and dropped him unceremoniously to the floor where he landed with a thud and his face became the victim of little Vlach's wet tongue.

"Ah. Yes, that would do it, wouldn't it?" Austria said with a grim smile as he stared down at his stupid older brother. "The 'exact' same words, was it?"

"Hm, oh I don't know, lemme think. Now what did he say again?" she said facetiously with a look of total concentration. "'Holy crap, you're fat!' Yeah, the exact same words," she finished with a scowl and both hands on her hips.

"You know the fool just did it for attention," Austria said with a casual shrug.

Despite living on the same side of the Iron Curtain and being friends, it was still pretty rare for Prussia to show up at Hungary's place so Austria couldn't very well hate him for showing up unexpectedly like this, but he was annoyed that Prussia had to come over today of all days (at least it wasn't tomorrow though).

"Oh, I know, I know," she reassured him, "That doesn't mean I'll forgive him for saying it though. So what are we gonna do with him? Dump him in the midden?" She looked way too happy with that idea.

"Hungary, no, we're not doing that," Austria said patiently, "I think letting your Bucovinan Shepherd handle him is a good enough punishment for his being an idiot."

"Ohhh, yes, I do see your logic! I always knew I kept that pup around for some reason," Hungary said happily with a satisfied nod and reached over to grab Austria's hands. "I'm making goulash for dinner tonight. Wanna help me?"

"As always, kedvesem," Austria agreed while Prussia was ignored on the floor and abandoned to his fate of having his face be covered in puppy slobber.

()()()()()()()

_late December, 1981_

The end of another year was approaching soon. Just a week now until the end and Hungary was looking forward to it much less than usual. Austria had noticed her reticence and he knew there was something up because throughout his most recent visit, she hadn't teased him all that much and she seemed much more somber than usual, content enough to sit next to him on the couch in front of the hearth with his arms around her. Austria might have blamed the cold, wintry weather, but that had never gotten her this down before, not without some other provocation. She was also _very_ pregnant; she could have the baby any day now, but that still wouldn't have stopped her from being upbeat and cheerful. It was something else that was actively making his love unhappy.

"Alright, Hungary. It's time to talk. Why have you been so down lately?"

She shifted the position of her head on his shoulder, but otherwise didn't move, "I'm always happy to see you, Austria."

"That's not an answer, love," he retorted gently and kissed the top of her head. "Your health's been getting worse this year, hasn't it? I've noticed."

There was a moment of silence before he felt Hungary reluctantly nodding her head. "Joining the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank and your own increased financial aid has been helping, but I've still got a _lot _more debt than I'm comfortable with because of a bunch of things that have all come crashing down on me at once essentially. Kádár..." she paused, "he wants me to tell you that he appreciates all that you've done to help me, but because of all this debt, I'm not gonna be allowed to see you next year to 'restrict Austrian imports' since he seems to think our resumed intimacy has had some kind of effect on my economy."

"But then... what about our baby? _Surely_ he's not going to restrict me from being able to see my own child?" Hungary didn't answer. Austria set his jaw and exhaled heavily in the hope that perhaps it would allow his anger to seep out by diffusion. "Hungary, can you sit up a little?" she acquiesced to his request and he was able to shift his position so that she was sitting propped up against his chest and he ensnared her in his arms, his hands resting atop her pregnant belly. "What do you want me to do, liebling? I'll even stay with you if you ask me to, but I don't want to get you into any unnecessary trouble."

As if in response to its father's words, a small kick pushed into Austria's palm from within Hungary's stomach and she grunted in response to the force, muttering 'Hyper kid. Gonna be the death of me'. But once she stopped grumbling, she turned her head upward and kissed his jaw. "You're the most wonderful man I've ever had the pleasure of knowing, Austria, but regardless of what I want, you _should_ go back home."

"My home is with you."

"Ah! A quick rebuttal!" she said with a light laugh, "Very well then. I want you to go back. I'll be fine here without you, really. I won't be birthing this kid without support if that's what you're worried about."

Austria nodded in acceptance. "My restriction starts at the turn of the year?"

"Yes, darling."

"I'll come back before then," he decided, "And I'm bringing Arnwald with me and leaving him here so that you can send for me if you want me for whatever reason."

"You'd do that?" she asked, shocked. Back when Arnwald was young and full of life, Austria was very strict about the rules regarding the usage of his eagle and only certain people were even allowed to enter the same aviary the bird was housed in (Italy _not_ being one of them for the obvious reason that he'd hurt himself). "You'd go to all that trouble of lending me your prized black eagle just for something like this? But you said yourself earlier this year that such a journey might kill him; is it really worth it?!"

"You and our child are _more_ than worth it, Hungary."

* * *

_(1__) __Magyarország (Hungarian) – Hungary_

_(2) apa (Hungarian) – dad/father_

_(3) édesem (Hungarian) – my sweetie_

_I think more often than not, Hungary and Austria both converse in German, rather than Hungarian 'cuz history, even though Austria can and does speak in Hungarian as well._

_Ah! The Russian Monument Liechtenstein! I was so happy to find that Liechtenstein and Russia __**have**__ had some sort of historical interaction in the past. The reason this makes me happy is partly because of chaneljay on DeviantART. There's one yonkoma that she has called "The Closet Shipper" and… basically what it boils down to is that Russia ships Austria/Hungary. Russia has actually had quite a bit of history with Austria, it's rather cool, but I think Russia would admire their little family and would probably see Liechtenstein as the kind of person that he wishes his own sisters were (yeah, in case you people can't tell, I LOVE Russia!)_

_It might not make too much sense yet, but there is a reason for why Austria said "Rapunzel-type story", and it's related to a future chapter (I will explain it in the footnotes of that chapter)._

_Oh, and Burgenland. It's Austria's now, but it was some contested territory between Austria and Hungary upon the close of WWI. Interesting fact, the Burgenland officials WERE involved with Kugelmugel some way (I can't remember what precisely) before it was even moved to Vienna in 1982, so headcanon here says that if Kugelmugel ever ceases to exist, Kugelmugel _will_ become Burgenland._

_HEADCANON: Austria and Hungary spend ALL 24 hours of October 31st together so that they're not alone on that day, which usually means that (at this point) Austria has been arriving on the 30th and he'll leave again on November 1st. When the Soviet Union no longer exists and Hungary has no communist regime, they'll alternate who travels to whose house for Halloween._

_And of course I had to put Prussia in here! If you've read my __**"Two States in One Nation"**__ already, then you should know that Prussia is going to know that his ex-sister-in-law (scary thought!) had another kid since I like to keep all my historical Hetalia headcanons like this all in one universe._

_Yes, Hungary has been getting sicker throughout the year which means the Head of State has to do something, regardless of if it separates my OTP again._


	4. Chapter 4

_7 January, 1982_

She could kill Kádár right here right now and have absolutely _no _qualms about it after the fact. Oh, he'd seemed like a nice enough boss, all things considering since she got him immediately following the Revolution of 1956, but now she realized just how wrong she was! The man was pure, diabolical evil!

"I'M HAVING A BABY, YOU FUCKING VLACH, AND SINCE YOU WON'T LET ME HAVE THE FATHER OF MY _CHILDREN_ WITH ME, THE _LEAST _YOU CAN FUCKING DO IS LET ME HAVE MY BEST FRIEND!"

Needless to say, she'd won that argument and that was at three in the afternoon when she'd first started having the labor contractions. They had been slow then, not nearly any time close to the baby actually being born, but she knew that it would take time for Prussia to show up, if he did. She hoped it would be enough time for Prussia to arrive. She didn't need him for midwifing, oh no, she'd already had that covered (Prussia being a midwife would be the absolute _worst _idea that anyone could ever have!); she just needed someone that she cared about to be there for emotional support, because she just had a feeling that she'd need it. She just had to wait for now; for the baby and for Prussia.

It seemed to take a human lifetime and it was 5:45 in the morning of the next day before she heard the knock on the door and she jumped up in excitement (though she was slightly disoriented after having risen too fast) and swung the door open, but the front step was empty. Peering into the darkness, she instead found that the stupid German albino had retreated a grand seven meters away from the front step.

"Hey, crazy lady!" Prussia called out with his normal, cheeky grin, "You summoned the Awesome me, ja!"

"You damn Prussia! What the fucking hell are you doing all the way over there?!" Hungary bellowed at him, already pissed off by him and she'd seen him for not even five minutes.

"Are you nuts, woman?! That big white bear of yours nearly flattened and made a crepe out of me the last time you opened that door!"

"Bajnok's not a bear, he's a Kuvasz!" Hungary retorted as she stomped over to her friend and hugged him unexpectedly. "Glad you could make it, Prussia."

"E-eh? J-Ja, don't sweat it, Hungary," Prussia said nervously.

He could never handle it when Hungary hugged him; yelling insults at each other was always the way they got along, not to mention the fact that except for his mother and his beloved Louise, he just couldn't handle women in general. Then Hungary suddenly seized up and gripped his upper arms as she let out a pained cry and curled up into herself as much as she could while standing up and fat.

"You damn crazy woman, you really _are_ about to pop, aren't you?! Who the hell let you out of the house looking like this, you idiot!" Prussia yelled at her, but there was something distinctly panicky in his voice that meant he wasn't just belittling her in her misery, but was truly concerned.

"Oh, shut up, you wuss," Hungary bit out through gritted teeth even with the pain of the contraction.

"Keh! Of course, she's still got enough bite to tear my throat out!" Prussia declared in exasperation as he moved down to her level near the ground and picked her up, groaning with the effort. "GOTT, woman, you're heavy!" he complained, but he didn't drop her even once as he carried her back into the house and met the midwife and a younger woman, probably a relative, halfway back to his friend's room.

"Oh, goodness, Mrs. Héderváry!" the elder woman exclaimed and quickly made eye contact with Prussia, "You're her friend Mr. Beilschmidt Gilbert, are you not?"

"Ah, yes, that's me," Prussia said after a moment's hesitation, not used to being addressed by that name.

"Good, good, she was so anxious for your arrival that she just wouldn't listen to me," she said with a cluck of disapproval.

"But madam, I had to-" Hungary tried to protest, but she bit off her next words as another contraction struck her and she dug her nails into Prussia's arm.

"I'll hear no such talk, you silly girl. You sir, bring her this way," she commanded to Prussia and he followed behind her the rest of the way, though he really didn't need to be told where Hungary's bedroom was. "A fine situation you ended up in getting yourself pregnant and with your husband leaving you at the worst of times, how irresponsible the wanderer; and what of your family? Have you no one left alive to you for support? Not even a grandmother or an aunt?"

"Nem (1). No one, but me remains, good woman," Hungary said softly.

"Well, nothing to be done about it now," the midwife said with a huff. "Lay her down Beilschmidt. Nice and easy, there's a good lad. Now leave while we attend to her. My daughter and I will handle it from here."

Prussia knew when to give in and let the humans do their thing and so he left, but not without squeezing Hungary's hand and whispering in her ear, "Just call if you need me, you nutso woman."

Once beyond the threshold, the young woman closed the door at her mother's orders and Prussia had no choice, but to slump down to the ground in the hall and wait and think, 'cause it would definitely be probably a few hours still before she actually _had_ the kid. The woman had called him Beilschmidt and Hungary Héderváry, which meant that Hungary hadn't told her their true identities as nations. He supposed it was better that way, but it was kinda sad, at least compared to how much things had changed. Prussia leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes, allowing his memory to wander such as he hadn't in a very long time.

When he was born, it was so long ago that Roman Empire was actually still alive back then; he'd met him though he could hardly recall. Just a big, dark-haired man that was very excitable, so completely different from his Vati, and yet he was just as strong too. He was called Kaup back then, and he was one of his mother's villages, which had helped him grow when it flourished and became an important trading center. It was back when the oaks were as sacred to him as the Iron Cross he still wore and when he spoke his mother tongue every day, the language long-since forgotten to him. When he was _really_ young, he'd never known any other name except for that which he represented and he assumed that was true for most of them (they didn't often discuss their early childhoods with each other). Then when Liechtenstein was born, it was in the royal court of Vienna, so they knew exactly who she was supposed to be and again, she hadn't needed any other name 'til a later date. But this one would be born differently. Born in an age less-accepting of the unexplainable (well, to an extent depending on the era. They were very accepting around the time _he_ was born, but much _less_ so during the dreaded Middle Ages) in a place that was limited by an especially harsh reality, the first name of this new family member of his would _not_ be its proud nation name, for they could only guess at that, but its fake, necessary human name. An anonymous child. Such a shame.

He could hear Hungary's groans of pain and she was cursing _so _horribly from Hell to high Heaven in that fun language of hers (he liked her swears; they were pretty damn awesome), and cursing Austria to which he smirked, and he didn't stir save for the occasional cringe from the pitch that sometimes accompanied it. It _really _struck him just how _painful_ childbirth had to be in order to make that woman shriek so. Oh, he'd always known it was no picnic for them; the wives' of his bosses were all proof enough, but he still couldn't really fathom just how much physical pain it entailed, especially since they seemed to forget the pain enough to not mind getting pregnant again. He didn't get it. But until Hungary called him, he wouldn't move from his spot; it was his only role here and it shouldn't even _be_ his. Austria was the one who was supposed to be here outside the room, probably pacing back and forth while Prussia watched and laughed at his misery. But the prick couldn't be here, so Prussia had to fill in for a position he had absolutely no desire to play.

Also, he was kinda bored. The wall was boring, sitting around doing nothing was boring not to mention unawesome, and Hungary was only screaming her head off in there. Where were her dogs? Sleeping? They could probably help him relieve his boredom. He knew she had three- no, four. It'd been about a century now since she got that puppy, but she'd always had three since forever, so those were the ones he remembered: the big white bear, the mountain tracker, and the motherly plains hunter, and all three of them very independent monsters.

As if right on cue, Prussia heard a high-pitched yapping noise, the scratchy sound of claws running and slipping at high speeds on smooth wood floor, and when he looked over to the sound coming from his right, he saw the uber-fluffy, hyperactive black-and-white devil of a fuzzball that had slobbered all over his awesome face, bounding straight at him, tongue lolling out of his mouth and looking oh so cute. But he _knew_ better. Romanian-born though he was, the pup was still Hungary's dog and therefore, he was a born devil. No other dog would _dare_ do something so evil as to lick his awesome face while he was unconscious! The Bucovinan Shepherd stopped right in front of him and wagged his tail as he spread his paws on the ground in front of him, a request to play.

But Prussia knew better. Prussia narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms as he stared down at the puppy. "Don't think that I don't know what you are," he warned. "I've got my eyes on you. Well, if you think that your sitting there looking so cute and innocent is going to fool me and get me to play with you, then you've got another thing coming, mutt!"

Naturally, Vlach didn't understand a word Prussia said since he was just making nonsense noise and wasn't doing anything, so Vlach whined in his throat and widened his eyes with a slight tilt downward of his head, thus giving Prussia the classic puppy dog pout. Not having been around puppies often, Prussia had completely forgotten why such a thing was called that, but now was made _fully_ aware of the circumstances in which that expression was given its name.

"No. I won't! Stupid. Mutt!" Prussia protested as though the puppy was physically attacking him. "Can't. resist. Too. cute!"

Prussia fell _hard_. It wasn't even a minute later before he was chasing his second-best (Gilbird would _always _be the best) awesome animal friend, Vlach, all over the house, Hungary's predicament completely forgotten. He might have even forgiving the first face-licking incident a couple months ago if he'd remembered that he'd cared enough to suspect the dog of evil as a result.

You know you little mutt, you're actually pretty darn awesome," Prussia told Vlach hours later as he picked up the puppy and let it lick his nose. "Man, I should just steal you away and-" but Prussia's monologue was cut short when his blood suddenly surged through his heart like water bursting through a dam and he heard a cry from within the closed-off room, but it wasn't Hungary's voice. "Vlach, go find your mutti and bother her," Prussia ordered Vlach as he set the little one down and headed back over to Hungary's room, his heart still pounding rapidly to accommodate for the new German blood flowing in his veins, and his niece's or nephew's cries became ever more pronounced.

He didn't know what time it was or exactly how much time he'd spent playing with that pup, but it didn't matter at all. There was absolutely no way he was tired after all of that, even after being up all night just to get to Hungary's house, and his own suppressed anticipation of meeting the newest member of the family. He showed absolutely no hesitation in pressing his ear against the door to see if he could hear anything useful above the infant's screams.

"Gilbert, I know you're outside the door," Hungary called and he flinched away as if burned. How the hell did she know?! He was actually trying to be quiet for once! Psychic pycho of a woman! "Get in here already you egocentric dork-face."

Prussia wouldn't dare admit that he was much too excited to see the new baby to bother making a proper retort. She had barely gotten the words out of her mouth when Prussia burst into the room, completely ignoring the elder mother and daughter still in the room, and hurried over to her bedside and stared with delight at the tiny little baby nation suckling at his mother's breast (he purposefully avoided looking at that) his heart beating so fast with joy that he was absolutely certain it would burst.

"So what is it?" he asked, "Another girl or an awesome boy, though frankly, I strongly doubt the latter," he said with a dismissive shrug towards the fair-haired baby as if he expected nothing else from Austria.

"For your information, it _is_ a boy," she said proudly with a smug smirk on her face.

"What?! You're kiddi-psh! No way, that's impossible! Au-_Roderich_ is too girly to have a son!"

Hungary raised an eyebrow at him in amusement at his complete denial. "Do you need _proof_, Gilbert? I can _easily_ provide it right here, right now, if you do."

"Ah, nein, I don't need proof Erszébet! I'll take your word for it!" he protested, backing away. He'd already had enough issues with this woman regarding gender issues and sexuality to last a nation lifetime without having to add any potential gender issues regarding her son as well. Oh, that felt like such an odd thing to even _think_! "So Erszi, whatcha gonna call the kid, hah?"

They both knew it would never be the kid's true name whatever was decided.

"I was thinking… Franz," she said slowly.

Prussia was visibly taken-aback. "Franz? The hell you namin' him after Fran-cis for?!" he demanded, nearly tripping up over France's 'name'. "Or is it in honor of Roderich's bosses? Well, I didn't give a damn for them anyway, but all the Franzs' were Class A dipshits. Francis Stephen was just an idiot, but Franz II, Franz Josef I?"

"I love how you classify 'all' as a grand total of two people."

"Well?!"

"They weren't the only men I knew called _Franz_, you know?" Hungary informed him with a mocking smile.

"Who then?" Prussia asked with a tilt of his head and a look of rare genuine innocence since he was clearly unable to think of any other Franzs that Hungary could possibly want to name her son after.

"Franz Liszt," Hungary said with fondly and even Prussia's eyes widened and his mouth dropped in recognition at the name. Oh, yes, he'd definitely heard of Franz Liszt; it was impossible not to. He distinctly remembered that man's music quite well. "A Hungarian-born German with a passion for music, well-known for his moving piano compositions, and the very same composer for our wedding music; what better name is there?"

"Right… none better," Prussia repeated as he stared down at the now-sleeping infant in awe. Franz Liszt, wow. That was such a heavy name to live up to, even though it wouldn't be what he was called most of the time. Would the boy be able to handle it?

"Prussia, come closer," Hungary beckoned and Prussia started, looking about for those two Hungarian women, but they weren't there. "They already left, idiot, or I wouldn't have used your real name, now come here."

"Yes, your Apostolic Highness!" Prussia declared dramatically in a quiet whisper, but he did obey her order and lean closer to her. He did _not_ expect that she would dump her _son_ into his _arms_! "Hungary, what-?!" he began in a hushed yell, but she only gave him a mischievous smile.

"Burgenland's your nephew Prussia, it's your family right to hold him, unless you've gotten so weak that even _his_ tiny weight would break your arms."

"Ha! The Great Prussia isn't nearly as weak as your little girl-man-boy ex-but-not-ex-husband is! But what do you mean about Burgenland? Is he really?"

Hungary only gave a shrug at that. "No clue, I'm guessing here. It's right between Austria and me, so it's not an illogical conclusion."

"No, except that your daughter is on the _complete_ opposite side of Austria and settled nice and comfortable in the Alps right between her vati and unawesome, stuck-up Onkel Switzy. Nowhere close to you at all, and yet she's your daughter."

Just as Hungary was about to speak again, Prussia heard a familiar fluttering of wings beating and seconds later, it was all he could do not to yell and swear at the top of his lungs when a pair of talons gripped his shoulder, none too gently, as a perch.

"Arnwald, you're awake! No, not on Prussia today; he's too much of a wimp. Come to me, that's it." Prussia couldn't prevent the relieved gasp from escaping his lips even if he'd wanted to, as the heavy weight and the digging pain left his shoulder and feathered wings brushed his cheek.

Once he was sure he was not going to die of blood loss (couldn't die like that anyway, but whatever), Prussia looked, albeit hesitantly, upon the Austrian eagle sitting comfortably on Hungary's arm and Prussia saw that she'd covered it with a thick cloth and a strap of leather underneath it for added protection from the talons. It had been an age and a half since Prussia had last seen the eagle, but what Prussia saw was both unsurprising and depressing. The beautiful black eagle had always been the one thing of Austria's that he'd made a point of never mocking or criticizing, for he was strong, deadly, and powerful… the king of the skies, and he knew it. Prussia had often joked about how Austria's eagle was more terrifying then Austria, himself. This poor old, patchy-looking thing held very little resemblance to that proud gorgeous eagle he had once known and admired so long ago, but such was his fate once the Habsburg power broke. His own black eagle, Maganleifr, who was actually a son of Arnwald's brood, had suffered a similar fate when the German Empire had been broken apart, but it was… his dissolution that had finally killed his precious black eagle. Arnwald stared at him with those golden eyes dull and yet still sharp, with a look that Prussia could have sworn was rapprochement.

"I'm sorry," Prussia told the old eagle seriously. "I couldn't do anything to save your son. I can't even save myself," he added grimly, then smiled, "But look here, Arnwald. It's you master's son." He presented the infant to the eagle and the raptor did peer down at the face surrounded by the blankets. Prussia frowned suddenly and turned on Hungary, and almost accusingly asked, "What's Arnwald doing here? He didn't _fly_ here, did he?! I swear, if he did, then I'll-"

"Dope. Austria gave him to me as a just-in-case measure if I _really_ needed him for something and had no way to contact him. I admit that I was tempted to send Arnwald for this, but decided against it. It's no big deal that Austria's not here," Hungary added with a yawn.

It was only midday though the crazy woman had stayed up all night, no joke, but in those few seconds after the yawn, Prussia had seen the sadness in her green eyes before it disappeared behind a wall of tiredness. She missed Austria more than she was willing to admit. Stupid, prideful woman, but she'd always been like that. Actually, no, she's always been a stupid, prideful _man_. In his own mind, she first became an actual woman in 1525; that was his story and he was sticking to it, no exceptions. It was far too damn embarrassing anyways.

* * *

_Nem (Hungarian) – no_

_I… actually don't think there's anything I need to expand upon canonically-speaking… o.o I based the timing of the labor/delivery events based on how my mom described what happened with me (except that I was born at 6 in the morning rather than around noon like little Kugel here)._

_The woman, Louise, is referring to Queen Louise of Prussia during the Napoleonic Wars. I mentioned her a bit in my fic **"Dissolution and Recovery"**, chapter 3, if anyone's interested, but that woman! She was absolutely incredible and Prussia _loved _her! Go look up some information on her if you don't know about her because what she did, for a woman of that time, was just incredible. She's as awesome as Maria Theresa, but not at all in the same way; they were two very different women, but I love them both (though ironically and sadly, I think I read somewhere that both of them were used in Nazi propaganda, like Prussia's Old Fritz, but I'm not sure about the validity of it since I haven't really found any sources to confirm it)._

_Ah, another thing. The midwife called Prussia 'Beilschmidt Gilbert' rather than the other way around is because, the Hungarians, like the Japanese, put the last name first._

_Now __**unlike**__ that badass Austrian eagle, Prussia does not officially have his own black eagle, BUT I figure why the hell not, so I gave him a black eagle too. Maganleifr, like Arnwald, is also a name from two Old Germanic words put together that I can't remember *fail*_

_Oh right, and in next chapter, Austria will explain why January 7 is Kugelmugel's birthday._


	5. Chapter 5

_7 January, 1984_

Hungary hadn't seen Prussia again even once since her Burgenland was born, and she actually hadn't had that many nations come to make house calls. Thankfully, her son had been napping the few times they'd come by; she didn't want too many of those who weren't family knowing that she had another child just yet. She'd told Poland because he was her best friend from long ago, like Prussia, and he'd naturally been delighted. Nation children were becoming such a rarity these days.

"He's like totally way too cute to be Austria's son," Poland had told her firmly when he'd come over to visit at her request and gotten a good look at the then-3-month-old baby, "You sure he's the ojciec (1)?"

"Lengyelország!" (2)

"I know, Węgry (3), there's like no way you'd ever demonstrate infidelity. But seriously, girl, you've had some incredibly cute kids. Oh, you should like _so_ totally put him in dresses and dress him up like a girl! Maybe even let him grow his hair long like your little girl's used to be before it went all snippty-snip away."

Hungary giggled, but shook her head. "No, I don't think I should, Poland. I admit that I've thought about it before since I'd done it with Italy, but since my poor Austria was so thoroughly certain that Italy was a girl, I'd hate to have him think that his only son is actually another girl as well."

"Oh, alright then," Poland said with a pout. "But you can still dress him up super cute even if you don't put him in dresses," he persisted with a smile and a nod.

"Alright, alright, I'll do it!" Hungary agreed with a laugh and hugged him.

But the most important country that knew of her son, the one that had the most control over her life, was Russia, and he only knew because he'd been one of the few who knew she was even pregnant last year. She'd remembered the event clearly; she would never forget the terror she'd experienced when she'd opened the door and was confronted with the towering East Slavic nation smiling down at her as always.

"Hello, Hungary, I hope you don't mind that I dropped by, but I wanted to see how you were recovering since you've been restricted from seeing Austria for half a year already," Russia said.

"I'm… getting better," she stated truthfully as she stared up at him, though her thoughts were mostly focused on the six-month-old resting on her hip.

Was Russia really concerned about her economy or had he come for her son the way he had for Moldavia's when it turned out her second son was the Southern Bessarabian region that had been separated from her in 1812 (though later reclaimed in 1856 before she'd even married Wallachia). She remembered, she had been there at the Congress of Berlin in 1878, and Romania, still just a child of physically nine years back then, had begged and cried for the Western nations to not let Russia take his little brother away, but no one stood. They'd all been too afraid of Russia. He'd cried and fought against his mother's reluctant restraint as Southern Bessarabia was dragged away by Russia. She had been unable to sleep that night without holding onto her darling little Liech for fear that some country would come and take her away, possibly forever.

Russia's smile widened. "That's good to hear. You need to stay in top health to take care of this cute little one," he said as his purple eyes shifted to her son and his eyebrows furrowed in soft confusion. "I can't tell; is this one a girl or a boy?"

"A boy. Burgenland," Hungary answered, knowing that Russia would have asked the latter question next anyway, and her hold on her son tightened.

"Ah, I see!" Russia exclaimed as his eyes lit up, "He's so cute, I'd have guessed he was a girl first. How old is he? Six months? His eyes aren't blue anymore, so he must be." Russia actually stooped down to be eye-level with the German child and he laid one giant hand upon the baby's head – Hungary stiffened in terror – and rubbed it gently. "You're a very cute and quiet boy, Burgenland. My little sister was quiet too when she was little, please don't grow up to be like her. You know, you look a lot like me. We both have violet eyes and white hair, though we're not old – well, at least I'm not physically old – but you have your papa's hair curl and his mole too, though it's not in the same place. Your older sister's very cute too. You be a good little brother to her, da?" And then he stood up, smiling at Hungary and said, "Thank you for letting me see him. It makes me happy to see your family doing well."

Russia hadn't bothered her again since that time to which she was immensely grateful and extremely relieved. But today had nothing to do with either Russia or Poland, this was about Burgenland and she had a feeling that somebody else would be coming today as well. Kádár had been cruel enough to restrict Austria for not one year, but two, and she had to watch in despair as her son grew up those two years without once seeing his father, save for in the old black-and-white family photos taken shortly before the Great War that had destroyed their family. The knock on her front door and Bajnok's loud barks startled out of her reverie and she turned sharply to gaze at the door in shock. Could it be...? Already? But it was only about seven in the morning, it was _way_ too early for it to be _him_. He'd be just about waking up at this time if not later.

Chiding herself for getting her hopes up so foolishly high, she turned to her Magyar agár sitting patiently on the floor and said, "Istók, watch," and pointed to her son sitting in the highchair. There was nothing he could reach, but all the same, she didn't want her talented little troublemaker finding a way out and falling to the floor and hitting his head while she answered the door. "Burgen, Mutti (4) has to answer the door, okay? Be good for Istók," she said sweetly and kissed his cheek. "And lookee here. I have Ruban!" she exclaimed as she pulled out from behind her back a very-much-loved, tattered-looking stuffed rabbit.

Burgenland's eyes lit up and he stretched his pudgy little hands towards the bunny. "Mutti, Wuban!"

"I möchte Ruban, _bitte_," (5) Hungary said slowly with strong emphasis on the 'please'.

"Wuban, bitte!" Burgenland repeated loudly.

"Very good, Burgen!" Hungary praised and she gave the rabbit to her son who then proceeded to stick the ears in his mouth and suck on them.

With Burgenland happy for at least the next few minutes, Hungary left the room to answer the door, still wondering who could possibly be dropping by so early in the morning on today of all days. She opened the door and gasped in shock, "Austria!"

It was indeed her ex, standing on the front step with a bouquet of edelweiss and lilies, and a package that she was _sure _had some kind of famous German cake inside it. "Really Hungary? After not seeing me for the past two years, that's all you can think of to say?" Austria asked, but he was smiling, so she knew he was teasing.

"Austria, kedvesem, I missed you so much!" she squealed happily as she jumped him and hugged him tightly around the neck, careful not to crash into the gifts he brought. "I had a feeling you would come, but I didn't know you'd be here _this_ early; when exactly _did_ you wake up? Vienna's about two hours away from here if you travel by car. Did you?"

"These are for you, first of all, libeling," Austria said with a jerk of his head to the bouquet of his and his daughter's national flowers. "And I've… been awake since 4:15 this morning," Austria admitted, turning his head away in embarrassment. "I did come by car. They gave me a lot of grief at the border as usual, but I'm here now at long last, and there's someone I've been dying to meet for two painfully-long years now."

Hungary beamed up at him and released her hold on his neck, sliding her hands down his arms and into his own hands with those slender calloused fingers of his. "Of course, love. Come this way," she said breathlessly as she pulled him inside and closed the door against the biting wind, taking the flowers that he had brought for her. "Quickly! Quickly! You're too slow! Don't worry about your coat just yet, that's not important! !"

It wasn't so much that Austria was being slow as it was that Hungary was pulling him too fast and he was stumbling over himself merely to remain standing, which was an incredible accomplishment given the circumstances as she dragged him into the kitchen where he saw his two-year-old child for the first time ever. It genuinely shocked him just how much his… daughter? (The child was so adorable, that he was almost certain of it, except that the _last_ time he'd been _sure_ that an extremely cute child nation was a girl, he'd turned out to be a boy)… looked like a baby Russia, down to the white hair and the amethyst-colored irises. But _he_ had amethyst eyes, and white hair (or at least very fair-colored hair) was definitely a possibility in his own family genetics.

"Oh, look at you, cicám (6), you've been such a good boy for your Mutti, yes you have!" Hungary gushed over the toddler, their son (Austria allowed himself a sigh of relief that he hadn't had the chance to mess up his own child's gender), after she deposited the flowers on the table temporarily and lifted him out of the highchair, settling him on her hip. "Well, look over there, Burgenland! Do you see that man standing there? That's your Vati (7). Do you remember the pictures of Vati that I showed you? That's him. Vati's come home. Are you gonna say 'hello', or are you going to be shy?"

Austria had to admit that he was impressed that Hungary was speaking German, and in a proper Austrian German dialect too, to their son and that the boy responded, and it filled him with pride to know that she had started raising him to be bilingual from the start, even though learning only Hungarian would be much easier and more necessary while he lived with his mother. Burgenland? Yes, he could see why Hungary would come to that conclusion, even though it wasn't his true name (he was thankful for that). Their son looked up at him with those wide, uncertain eyes, and though it was completely understandable, it still hurt immensely when the toddler averted his gaze and turned away, trying to hide himself in his mother's hair.

"Ah, yes, you _are_ going to be shy today," Hungary said patiently. "Don't worry, you'll get used to your Vati soon enough, little one, I'll make sure of it," she added feverishly and Austria knew that tone to mean that she would do everything in her power to make sure that their son did not have an estranged relationship with him simply because of the circumstances of his birth and his parents' living arrangements. "I bet you noticed that he looks a lot like Russia," she said with a half-grimace, half-smile.

"That… did cross my mind initially, yes, but I know those traits also exist within my family heritage," Austria admitted as he stepped closer and set the box he brought with him on the table. "But Russia's family doesn't have any of these extraneous hair curls," he added as he delicately held the stubborn strand between his forefinger and thumb. His son's hair was very thick and smooth like his mother's.

"No, they don't, do they Burgenland?" Hungary laughed and gazed fondly up at him. "He's got your face too. It's still very squishy and full of baby fat right now, but he definitely looks like you."

"Kugelmugel."

Neither of them expected the boy to turn around and look at Austria expectantly upon saying the word, but that he did, his shyness completely overcome.

"Austria, what was that word you said? Something about a hill or a mound? Say it again; he liked it for whatever reason," Hungary encouraged.

"Kugelmugel," Austria repeated, carefully enunciating every syllable.

To his surprise, the boy released one tight fist from his mother's hair and reached out towards Austria saying the first half of the word 'Vati'.

"Austria, take him, he wants you," Hungary urged, and just in time too because suddenly the boy lurched forward out of her arms and straight into his father's, who had moved just soon enough and quick enough to catch him before he dived headfirst into the floor.

"Phew! You're a bit of a daredevil, aren't you, Kugel?" Austria said with a faint sigh of relief, as he held his small son close to him. He weighed a very heavy nine kilos even though he knew that was light for a two-year-old. Were all his children so small? He felt that Liechtenstein had been about this size at the same age as well.

"_Oh_, yes he is," Hungary said with a vigorous nod, "I wager he gets that from his anya (8), right little one? So what do you mean by Kugelmugel?"

"He knows… You know, don't you, mein Sohn (9)?" Austria said to his fair-haired son as the boy cuddled up against him while sucking on his thumb, and he smiled softly down at him, "You know that your true nation name is Kugelmugel."

"Oh, is it?" Hungary asked as she stroked the top of her son's head, knowing that her no-longer-husband would provide the explanation she wanted.

Austria hesitated slightly before proceeding onward. The explanation she wanted wasn't an easy one. "He's not like Prussia, or even me after the Great War, but he's not like the rest of us either. He's not even like his sister."

Hungary frowned in confusion. "How so? You know very well that nations can't have children with humans and that those children born to us can't be anything but nations themselves, otherwise our beloved Maria Theresa's first son would have had a great probability of being _your's_, kedvesem, and _not_ Francis Stephen's," Hungary said with a sly smile for her lover in regards to that one absolutely incredible and amazing woman; the only woman that she'd ever shared her Austria with.

"Yes, well…" Austria trailed off with an expression that was both fond and sad for the only human he'd ever loved like Hungary. "Have you ever heard of Sealand?"

Now she looked genuinely perplexed, "Öö, nem? (10) Should I have?"

"No, and it wouldn't matter if you hadn't except for our little one here," Austria said with a nudge at his son's head with his cheek. "Sealand is Britain's… brother as far as he claims, though the boy is so young, that I have my doubts about that claim."

"Úúúú, (11) the self-proclaimed gentleman doing something scandalous!" Hungary said with a vicious-looking smile. She didn't like Britain at all and he really couldn't blame her; he didn't much care for him either, and with several good reasons.

"Anyways, Sealand is a micronation which is to say, he's not an official nation because nobody recognizes him as such, not even Britain, but he's quite a force to be reckoned with regardless, even though his body is just a British fort that was built for the English Navy during World War II. I've never met him, but Germany has. When one of his idiots got arrested for attacking Sealand in 1978, Netherlands and I were also with Germany when we petitioned to Britain for the fool's release, but he was steadfast in claiming he had no authority because of a court ruling in 1968. So… Germany had to actually travel to Sealand with a diplomat to negotiate the release. From what I learned from Germany, he looks a lot like Britain, save that his eyes are blue, his hair is more brownish, and if he _is_ Britain's progeny, then he inherited some of his worst character flaws, namely his imperialistic superior-than-thou attitude."

"That sounds absolutely exhausting."

"Germany did look rather worn down when he talked to me, though that could have been as a result of the time changes as well," Austria admitted. "The point is that because of England's court ruling and Germany's diplomatic visit, this rude child claims _de facto_ state recognition from those two and his ego is getting to be as large as Prussia's was when he was the Teutonic Knights if Germany's description was any indication."

"Like Prussia?!" Hungary exclaimed in horror, "We've already got at least three egoists in Europe, two no longer countries and one of those vying to become a separate country again, we don't need any others!"

"Britain doesn't seem to be disciplining the child."

Hungary's eyes narrowed into a look of death like she wanted nothing more than to punch Britain in the face for his lack of parental responsibility, regardless of whether he was his actual father or just his older brother. She closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. "Britain can't raise kids," she stated as fact, "Even Prussia did fairly well with raising Germany and looking after our Liech during 1848 when everything was in chaos in Europe. But Austria, how does this English-born child relate at all to our son?"

"It's… our son is… just like him. He's a micronation too." There was simply no other way to say it.

"So… Kugelmugel is a micronation in your house?" Hungary asked slowly.

"Jå. (12) To be honest, the event had been developing long before you got pregnant, so I thought nothing of it. Edwin Lipburger, who is the man claiming to be Kugelmugel's president, is an artist who had been working on building a literally-spherical house. Regardless of his ingenuity, he didn't have the right permits to build it, so he was arrested, and it had seemed like nothing unusual at the time. I'd never have known it would have resulted in _this_," he said, indicating the boy starting to fall asleep in his arms. "But if it wasn't for Kirchschläger's pardon, then Lipburger would probably still be in jail."

"So what was happening when Kugel was born? It sounds like the very idea of a state had already come into formation before January two years ago."

"There was a meeting held to discuss and resolve the full details in what would be involved to transfer the sphere to Vienna and how it would be maintained in regards to finances and lawfulness," Austria explained, "That's how I knew what our son's name was."

"And your blood was what told you our second child was born in the first place, I'll bet," Hungary finished with a smile and reached around her son's head to kiss Austria. "So darling, what's in the box?"

"I seem to remember a certain wife of mine saying something about craving baumkuchen a while back, so I figured I'd bring some to celebrate our son's second birthday."

"Oh Austria, you didn't have to! _Real_ baumkuchen?! You know we can't have it now, it's still too early for cicám."

"Jå, regrettably, and I didn't have much in the way of breakfast before coming either."

"Oh, you're impossible, szerelmem!" Hungary declared in mock outrage.

"I know. You've told me before, kedvesem," Austria said with a fond smile towards his lover. That was about when Kugelmugel had had enough and started crying suddenly and reaching for his mother, repeating 'Mutti' over and over.

"What is it, Kugel? You don't like your vati anymore? Nein, nein, I know you haven't had breakfast yet, but you've been _very_ good for Mutti while I've been talking to Vati," Hungary gushed as she took her son back into her arms and set about getting him breakfast. "So how's everyone that I care about on the other side doing?"

"Italy and Germany are doing quite well for themselves, though Germany's taking his separation from Prussia worse by the year, which shouldn't surprise you. Italy's been helping him though and even Bavaria has done his part to help despite his intense dislike for Prussia. Your friend Belgium is well too, and Spain is the same as ever. Ah, and according to Switzerland, our Liech is doing just fine as well."

"Oh? You've spoken to Switzerland recently?" Hungary asked in a shocked voice.

"Even better, he brought Liechtenstein with him when he came to visit."

"Really? Liechtenstein? That was nice of him; how was she?" Hungary asked suddenly.

"_Very_ happy to see me, danke (13)," Austria said a little smugly, "You'd be happy, dearest, she doesn't like Czechoslovakia."

"Hallelujah! I finally managed to teach our girl something!" Hungary exclaimed triumphantly.

"They stole some of her family's possessions."

"I've _never_ liked that Czech woman," Hungary said vehemently as her hand began to drift over to the skillet set upon the stove, simply at the mere thought of that conniving woman distressing her baby.

"Ungarn (14), you're not allowed to punish them all by yourself; the consequences will only do you more harm than _any _good that might ever come from it," Austria warned her. "Oh, but speaking of Switzerland, that does remind me…"

Austria stuck his hand into his jacket pocket and fished around, first pulling out the gloves that he'd worn on the way over, and then finally pulling out a red beret, a little smaller than average adult size.

"What's that?" Hungary asked after a quick glance over her shoulder at the object in Austria's hands.

"Less than a month after Kugelmugel was born, Switzerland came over to my home, bringing Liechtenstein with him, to say, in his words, 'it's always your fault that I keep getting more blood in my body'. Liechtenstein knows that she has a new sibling, not whether she has a Bruder or Schwester, but she was very excited nonetheless. But where the beret is concerned, Switzerland brought it with him and thrust it into my arms saying, in typical Switzerland fashion, that it was one of his old hats that he didn't use anymore and though it would be too big at first, our child would definitely have plenty of growing room and it would keep its head warmer for more years."

Curious now, Hungary stopped her preparations and returned to where Austria was standing with the beret. She picked it up with one hand and observed it critically. "It _is_ big, but it doesn't look… _that_ old, and it's certainly not as well-worn as dear little brother Switzy would lead us to believe. Compared to most of his things, this is _new_!"

Austria smiled. He had come to that exact same conclusion too, but it was worth hearing just how thoroughly-impressed Hungary was about the amount of care that Switzerland was showing by giving such a gift. "This is from your Onkel Switzerland and your Schwester, Liechtenstein. Alles Gute zum Geburstag, (15) Kugelmugel," Austria said as he placed the new red beret upon the child's head.

* * *

_(1) __ojciec (Polish) – father_

_(2) __Lengyelország (Hungarian) – Poland_

_(3) __Węgry (Polish) – Hungary_

_(4) Mutti (German) – Mom_

_(5) I möchte Ruban, bitte (German) – I want Ruban, please (incidentally 'ruban' is French for ribbon. There's no reason behind it except that when I was thinking of a name, that was the first thing that came to my head. Also, I used 'I' instead of 'Ich' because that's how the Austrian German dialect pronounces it. I don't know if this is the way that an Austrian German dialect would say this sentence, but I did try to find the differences between pronunciation and vocabulary as much as I could)._

_(6) cicám (Hungarian) – my kitten (often used by parents for their children)._

_(7) Vati (German) – Dad_

_(8) anya (Hungarian) – mom/mother_

_(9) mein Sohn (German) – my son_

_(10) Öö, nem? __(Hungarian) – Uhh, no?_

_(11) Úúúú (Hungarian) – Oooohhhh (like when someone gets got doing something in class and the entire class makes that sound._

_(12) __Jå (German) – yes (the Austrian German prounciation of 'ja' from what I read. It apparently ends up sounding more like 'yoah', but I don't know how applicable this is to the modern dialect or everyday usage. It was hard enough finding anything on top of figuring out if it was common usage or not)._

_(13) danke (German) – thank you_

_(14) Ungarn (German) – Hungary_

_(15) Alles Gute zum Geburstag (German) – Happy Birthday_

_Now for explaining Russia since we're not following his POV, so I can't explain what he's thinking except down here in the footnotes! XD The situation with Romania and (the current) Moldova during one of the Russo-Turkish Wars is exactly why Hungary was deathly afraid that Russia would come and take her son away (also… I kinda threw in some foreshadowing for Hungary in regards to Liechtenstein if you're in the process of reading Mamoru4Ever's fic __**"Last Bedtime Story"**__). Russia never had any intention of doing such a thing however. He wants Austria's and Hungary's family to stay together as much as possible because he sees a strong, close-knit relationship between them (which he values highly because he's very community-oriented – I've read that a Russian would rather sit with a stranger at a restaurant than dine alone). Perhaps he also sees a bit of himself and his sisters in their children (especially after seeing Kugelmugel) and he wants those two siblings to have a good, healthy relationship, unlike the one he has with his own sisters. _

_Regarding the result of the Russo-Turkish War with the Southern Bessarabian territory, I didn't get a chance to really show it, but Wallachia and Moldavia were not at __**all**__ okay with Russia taking Southern Bessarabia away, because a) it was their son and b) he was breaking his promise to maintain Romania's integrity._

_I had the headcanon that Romania himself wasn't actually born until the mid- to late-1800s as a result of the union of the Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia into the United Principalities. Ironically, the Romanticism actually depicted the union of the two principalities, kinda like the 'Germania and Italia' painting. The fact that Romania also has a romantic side may also be a strong indication of his birth during the Romanticist movement. Wallachia has been depicted in Hetalia before (in the anime too), though we've only seen the back of him and when he had a hood up, so we couldn't see him well, but with Wallachia being male, I had to make Moldavia female because two males can't make a baby, sorry, they've got the wrong parts. Now regarding how Romania can know about Romanian-related stuff __**before**__ his birth, well Romania loves folklore, so he'd have a natural interest in his own history, and I say that the hat he wears was a gift from one of his parents, and with their combined history, they infused the hat with the generations of memories of the Romanian people, so he sees his peoples' past through his parents in almost quite the literal sense._

_Hahaha! Of course I have to have Austria guessing that his son is a girl first! XD (and we can blame Poland for Kugel's later fashion sense) Gender confusion is part of the family! ! ! Holy Rome (thought Italy was a girl), Austria (also thought Italy was a girl), Italy (cute enough to look like a girl), Hungary (thought she was a boy), Kugelmugel (cute enough to be mistaken for a girl, even in the fandom), and Liechtenstein (mistaken for a boy and __**mistakes**__ Kugelmugel for a girl)._

_lol, one thing that I love about more modernish Hetalia is that I get to acutally mention genetics because people know what that is by then! XD Also, because Hungary wants her son to be able to speak both her language and his father's German, she only speaks German at home and only Hungarian whenever they leave the house._

_Aha, um, yes, I do ship Austria/Maria Theresa as well (totes my OT3 with Hungary), so I mentioned that. What can I say? Austria likes strong women._

_I also threw in some headcanon of mine about Sealand to explain how he __**could**__ be Britain's son and yet why they act more like brothers (lol, England refusing to acknowledge him suddenly has new connotations), because I do not see HOW England's mother could have possibly had another son in the mid-1900s when she's kinda, I dunno, dead! Man, looking up info on Sealand, really confirmed his personality in Hetalia for me, it was scary! O.o Btw, the three egoists of Europe that Hungary was referring to, if you couldn't figure it out, are Denmark, Bavaria, and Prussia._

_Now, I realize that I haven't touched upon this, but a lot of you may think that I made a mistake considering that Kugelmugel didn't declare Independence until 1984 (could_ not _find an actual date to save my life)_._ Well, the name 'Kugelmugel' and the idea of a separate state had, as previously described, already been in circulation during the legal process, and so Kugelmugel's 'declaration' was, for this fic, actually his first meeting with Austria when he first heard his true nation name._

_Geez, my footnotes are long! (this is exactly why I broke up this story into so many chapters because otherwise, the footnotes would be as long as each chapter! DX)_


	6. Chapter 6

_June 1984_

"Austria, I know you miss me and our son, but you _don't _need to bring something for us every time you come visit. It sets a bad precedent with Kugel, and I _know _you know how to raise kids properly."

"Call it 'compensation', love," Austria said apologetically, "I can't be with you and Kugelmugel as much as I want to, to support you in caring for our son, and this is the least that I can do for us."

"Vati, vati, vati!" Kugel repeated from where he was, coming around the corner of the north side of the house, accompanied by all four of Hungary's dogs.

Kugelmugel being in the supervising company of the ancient dog breeds wasn't all that unusual since they were all independent working dogs, as was their breeded-for purpose, and Bajnok especially wouldn't let _any _stranger near his charge. What horrified Austria however was the fact that his son looked like he'd been caught in a mudslide! He was completely covered from head to toe in mud with hardly a single clean spot on his body, and was even carrying what looked like _more_ mud in his hands!

"Oh, Kugelmugel, you naughty boy," Hungary said, but her tone wasn't scolding at all as she got down onto her knees to be at eye level, "Why are you so dirty? Did Istók knock you over?"

"Nein. Mud play!"

"Ooh, really? Mud play? That sounds like fun!"

Kugelmugel smiled widely and held up his hands. "Look Mutti. Kunst!" (1)

"Wow! That looks very nice, Kugel!" Hungary said happily. "Why don't you show your Vati too? I bet _he'd_ like to see it."

"Jå! Vati look Vati! Kunst!"

Somewhat reluctant, Austria too got down on his knees to be more at eye level with the child and get a better look at his son's self-proclaimed 'art'. He supposed that it could be considered art in the most basic sense of the word. It had a distinct elongated shape and about the same relative thickness throughout as opposed to being just a handful of mud. Relatively-speaking, it was a pretty good accomplishment for a 29-month-old.

"It's impressive, Kugel," Austria admitted, his reaction _far_ more subdued than Hungary's. "What are you going to call this work of art?"

"'Vati und Mutti' or 'Apa és Anya'," Kugelmugel replied instantly. ('Dad and Mom' in German and Hungarian)

Austria was taken aback. He hadn't expected such a quick and meaningful response. "Why?"

"Denn das Vati," Kugel said while accidentally jabbing at the left half of his mud art and then smoothing it out again. "Und das Mutti," (2) he explained while pointing to the right half, being careful not to poke it this time.

Now that Kugel had pointed it out, he could see quite clearly that the elongated shape really was a crude representation of him and Hungary, as defined by their present day borders, joined together along their border. It was at once both impressive and depressing. Impressive in that Kugel was able to do that out of mud – did he even have any references during the creation?! – and bring it over to show them without breaking it, but depressive in its reminder of his marriage to Hungary and his crippling fall from power when their marriage was torn apart. Wheelchair-bound, sicker than ever before, lonely, and contemplating suicide until that option was taken away by his being forbidden any kind of political union with Germany, he'd never felt worse in his life, not even when Bavaria had used him as a meat shield as a child against every single invading force from the east until he'd finally become a duchy and been free of him. But the union of Hungary and himself as depicted by his son's art had never existed. It wasn't at all how they'd looked when they'd really been married.

"Yes, I see that Kugel. It's very well done, thank you. Someday my son, I will try to find you a map of what your mutter and I looked like when we were married and strong so that you can make more art."

Kugelmugel furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Vati and Mutti _is_ strong."

Despite the fact that Kugel was still covered in wet mud, Austria didn't even cringe as he hugged his filthy son. "No, Kugel. We _were _strong. We're not anymore and we haven't been for a long time."

()()()()()()()

_Mid-October, 1985_

Over the past two years that Austria had managed to become acquainted with his son, he had duly noted that Kugelmugel no longer treated him like the stranger he'd been when they first met. He was treated as family and he knew it pleased Hungary that they had overcome that obstacle, despite their difficult circumstances. However, he never expected his son to burst out of the house screaming his name and crying his little eyes out. It was shocking how fast the boy could run though! It was rather like watching a younger Italy which served as a horrible reminder that he'd first thought his own son was a girl too; he looked too much like his sister. Wait… his sister? No, it wasn't just his imagination; why was Kugelmugel wearing his hair in braids?! Oh wait, his son was crying first, that was more important than his hair.

"Vati no go! Vati no go! Vati no go!" Kugel cried loudly as he collided into Austria's legs and clung to them like glue.

"Kugel, I just arrived. I'm not going anywhere soon."

"_Nein!_ No go! Kádár is bad man! No go Vati!"

Austria's heart rate increased tremendously as soon as that important Hungarian name passed the boy's lips. "What's happened, Kugel? What's Kádár done? Is your mutter alright?"

"N-Nein. Mutti sad because Kádár take Vati away," Kugel tried to explain before he was overcome with hiccups and his speech was rendered impossible.

"Come on son, breathe," Austria said as he detached his white-haired child from his legs and lifted him into his arms. "Now let's go find your mutter and see what she has to say, alright?"

The tiny micronation nodded with a sniffle and started wiping his tears away haphazardly with his fists. Satisfied that Kugelmugel was at least marginally alright now, Austria carried him to the open front door where he saw Hungary waiting just inside.

"I assume he told you what's going on?" she asked with a head nod toward the sniffling toddler.

"As much as a four-year-old can, jå. What's Kádár doing now?"

When Hungary averted her gaze and hugged her arms, he knew it was bad. "He's putting a restriction on you again, just like last time."

"I see…" Austria said quietly. He couldn't say he was _too _surprised. Kugel had tried to tell him after all, and he'd expected as much. "Is this restriction going to last another two years as well?"

"I don't know that much, you know that."

"At this rate, I'm going to become used to seeing you and Kugel every two years. For how many decades do you think I should prepare myself to endure?"

Hungary frowned slightly. "Kedvesem, I don't think we'll have to suffer through even one such decade. You know as well as I do that Russia's political situation is changing quickly. It's a small hope, but we might not even have to wait until the end of this decade before we're all free to be ourselves and no longer have to live by Russia's schedule."

"It's as you say. Russia's political situation is changing and we can't predict how those changes will affect us. I wish you the best of luck, liebeling," Austria said encouragingly as he grasped one of her hands and pressed it to his lips.

"Thank you, szerelmem," Hungary said with a proper blush upon her cheeks. "I know I'll be fine, but it's Kugel I'm worried about. He's so young; this'll be a truly awful situation for him."

"So I gathered from the way he was crying," Austria said with a sympathetic smile at Kugel who had emotionally-exhausted himself into a nap and was starting to become rather heavy. "He's met Kádár then?"

"Igen. (3) He came over to inform me of the restriction he would be enacting and Kugel overheard him from the next room." A vindictive smile suddenly overtook her features. "It's not easy explaining to a child with the mentality of a three-year-old that he won't be allowed to see his apa for at least a whole year."

"It doesn't have to be that way this time," Austria said, "Kugel wasn't even born when the restriction was put on me the first time. He's old enough that I could take him to live with me for the year until the restriction is lifted."

"No, Austria, that wouldn't work," Hungary said with a sad shake of her head. "Kugel doesn't have an exit visa and you know he's too young to have one."

Austria sighed in defeat. "Well, I guess my visits are numbered once again."

"I really am sorry, love," Hungary said as she wrapped her arms around both Austria and Kugelmugel, "I want Kugel to see your beautiful heart and what his body looks like too, but hopefully it won't take us too much longer to reach that point. _Több is veszett Mohácsnál_ is all."

"'More was lost at Mohács'," Austria repeated in a dull manner.

"We won't have to deal with this for long, love. I know we won't," Hungary reassured him. It was not a lie because time for them was merely a question of relativity. Both six months and thirty years could be considered short depending upon what they were compared to.

* * *

_(1) Kunst (German) – art (lol, Kugelmugel's favorite word)_

_(2) Denn das Vati und das Mutti (German) – Because that Dad and that Mom_

_(3) Igen (Hungarian) – yes_

_It's very interesting trying to guess what words a small child would say when learning to speak, in a language that's not your own. I must really thank my Psychology class for helping me figure out approximately how well Kugelmugel would be able to speak at whatever his current physical age is._

_Ah, yes, um… (warning: tangent for the next three paragraphs) I haven't told anyone about this particular headcanon of mine and I haven't seen anybody else mention it sooo, please don't kill me? Alright, sooo… dying isn't easy for a nation (duh) and committing suicide is even more difficult, and it's not a quick thing either. But from 1918 following the break-up of the Austro-Hungarian Empire all the way to 1919 with the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Austria was called the Republic of German-Austria and in his provisional constitution at the time, it said this: that German-Austria is a component of the Weimar Republic (Germany), which reflected the thoughts that after having lost 60% of his territory, Austria could no longer support himself alone, so their only recourse was to form a union with Germany._

_However, when looking at it from Austria's standpoint, he seems to have been in a place where this union would have eventually killed him and he wanted it. Look at it this way. For centuries, he was a powerful force to be reckoned with in Europe, it's true, but I believe that his seiyuu was correct in that Austria's most admirable quality is his ability to take care of people. Economically-speaking, Austria-Hungary was __**thriving**__ and getting stronger! Even most of the Slavs of the Empire really just wanted greater autonomy; they didn't seek the complete annihilation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire! There's even an Austrian proverb that goes something like "The situation is hopeless, but not serious", because nobody thought that Austria could be broken. The crippling fall was an unthinkable reality._

_Austria has already shown in canon that he doesn't like being alone. The ending bits of the Chibitalia stuff is proof enough of that. He lost Holy Rome in the Thirty Years' War, Italy in the Italian Independence Wars (The aftermath of the Battle of Custoza in the Third Independence War… *SOB*), Germany in the Austro-Prussian/Seven Weeks' War (seriously, which one is it more commonly referred to?), the rest of the German states to Prussia in the Franco-Prussian War, Hungary with the dissolution of their marriage, and Liechtenstein with the unstable Austrian economy after the war. The man was completely alone and wheelchair-bound following the Great War! In Tyrol and Salzburg alone (both provinces), there was a 98/99% majority in favor of unification with Germany! That's depressing! BUT, Treaty prevented union with Germany so Austria was forced to stay alive (good thing too)._

_Oh, and Bavaria using Austria as a meat shield; that's in reference to the fact that Austria was a March/Margraviate, and if you know anything about Margraviates, then you know that they were created at the edges of the Holy Roman Empire to sorta act as a buffer against the invaders, like all the Turkic tribes that came through, including the Magyars (although they're more Finno-Ugric), and Austria was living with Bavaria all the way until he became a duchy because of some stuff that I already explained in chapter 2 of __**"Dissolution and Recovery"**__._

"_More was lost at Mohács" is something that Hungarians say in moments of bad luck, referring to the Battle of Mohács in 1526 which is seen by many as the beginning of the end of a powerful, independent European nation. I've seen it described as 'a national trama' (kinda like how those 200 years of persecution and enslavement of the Lithuanians by the Teutonic Knights is engraved into their national memory)._


	7. Chapter 7

**[EDIT (April 13, 2013)]: Yes, I'm evil! I went there! I wrote a piece that actually happens on October 31st when Austria and Hungary aren't together. So in coming up with that brilliant piece of evil, it ended up being too short for its own chapter, but I can't really make it part of the next chapter either, because it doesn't fit, so it goes with this one. If you've already read the story without this new addition, just go to the last "()()()()()" that you see and start from there, because that's new stuff.**

* * *

_February 1986_

"Muuutiiiiiiiiiii, when does Vati come back?" Kugelmugel asked his mother plaintively from where he sat curled up on her lap watching the flames dancing in the fireplace.

"Next January, Kugel."

"It's next January now?"

"No, it's only der Feber (1), cicám," Hungary sighed.

"Tomorrow it's next January?"

"Nein," Hungary said with a small laugh. "Der Jänner (2) is eleven months. We still have a long time to wait before we can see Vati again."

"I miss Vati. Kádár is bad man taking Vati."

"No, no, he really isn't. He's doing what he thinks is best for his country's health, even if I don't like it."

"Mmm," Kugel hummed to himself as he took off his red beret and twisted it around in his hands. "Mutti, I want story."

"Kugelmugel, can you ask nicely?" Hungary said sternly.

"Can I have story bitte?"

"Much better, that was very good," she praised, "What kind of story do you want?"

"Tell me story on Vati."

"Alright. A story on Vati. Let me tell you about a time when your Vati was strong, but first, I have to explain some things. Today, there is a nation called Turkey who lives south of us, but not so long ago, he was called the Ottoman Empire, and he was also one of the four empires that were destroyed over the course of World War I. But long before that time, he was crazy strong and feared throughout all of Europe. He was my worst enemy, but I was strong too and I held him back for centuries. But alas…" Hungary sighed, "Even _my_ strength finally failed me in 1526 at the Battle of Mohács when my king was killed in the battle with no heirs, and I found myself to be the contested interest of both Austria and the Ottoman Empire, who had never been in direct conflict with each other before then, if memory serves. There's something about the Ottoman Empire that you have to understand Kugel…"

Hungary quickly realized that her son probably didn't understand most of what she was saying. He was simply too young, especially as a nation, to fully understand just how important this all was, how important this all used to be, and how these were all events that they had _lived_ through and events that had helped shape them into who they were. She knew this and yet she couldn't stop. She was grateful that Kugel was quiet and polite enough not to interrupt, but she also knew her son wasn't _really_ interested in a story. He just missed his Vati and simply her talking about him was all that he needed to soothe his little heart and ease the ache of not being able to see his Germanic father.

"… That man had a ruthless reputation in Europe, when he arrived, as being a man of little mercy and very much upheld the creed 'an eye for an eye' in warfare and this was centuries before he killed the Byzantine Empire, who was quite the sassy woman. But that's getting off-topic. Underlying all of the technical reasons involved, the Ottoman-Habsburg rivalry was simply a question of succession to the Roman Empire. Was it Austria, son of his killer and the guardian of the Holy Roman Empire, one of Rome's grandsons, who should succeed by inheritance? Or was it Ottoman Empire who killed the former Ancient Greece, a wife of Rome, and thus should succeed by right of conquest? Your Vati had recently come into power and Ottoman Empire was at the height of his expansion; it was like God had decreed them to be bitter rivals from the moment they laid eyes on each other and so for over 150 years, your Mutti had two handsome men fighting over her. And that's the stage for which your Vati showed his true strength. It started with the Ottoman Empire's second Siege of Vienna in 1683…" and as Hungary wove her fanciful tale of struggle, desperation, and perseverance embellished by the passage of time and secondhand information, her mind wandered into her memory.

She hadn't been there. Since 1529 when the Ottoman Empire had forced her into submission, she had spent one month at Holy Rome's (and then later Austria's) house for every two at Ottoman's every year unless she was at war. The last time she'd seen him, they'd been arguing with increasing intensity and anger about her religious freedom to such a degree that it completely blew all past arguments out of the water and in 1681, she'd finally had enough and stormed out of the house in such a rage, she'd believed she'd come to hate Austria. But despite her rage, for some stupid reason, she'd missed him which had only resulted in increasing her emotional distress and confusion. Any other time, she wouldn't have listened, but when Ottoman Empire had told her to support the rebellion that had already broken out, she'd done so at once. She'd confessed to the troubled state of her heart on a whim and of course, he'd taken advantage of it. It was so stupid of her. That conversation still haunted the dark corners of her mind that she had no desire to unearth:

_ Ottoman Empire didn't speak and her face was hidden shamefully in her hands, so she couldn't even guess his expression. Why?! What was **wrong** with her?! This was __**Ottoman Empire**__ for crying out loud and to __**him**__, she'd just… he didn't need to know about her life living with Austria! It was none of his business and yet she'd just blurted out all the emotional pain, all her hate conflicting with all her happiness, that she was experiencing since she'd left his house. She was such a fool…_

"_He's such a fool, isn't he?"_

_ Hungary's mental berating paused and she lifted her head away from her hands, but only just enough to see them in the dim lighting, and she didn't dare raise her head. Did Ottoman say 'he'? Who he? Was he referring to Austria?_

"_He's changed you a lot too." There was an odd note in his voice that she couldn't quite label, "The Hungary that I knew before 1526 was a brutal, headstrong, and vicious little brat, and he's trapped you into a role that you had never fit into. **That** Hungary would never have broken down into hysterics like this; she'd have confronted the problem head on with her sword and sheer force of nerve. It's absolutely despicable seeing someone like that become someone like this."_

_ That… that wasn't true! Austria didn't do that! She'd changed of her own free will to accommodate for her new situation! Well, okay, yes, Austria __**had**__ corrected her on a couple things, but it was to help her get used to the fact that she was a __**female**__, and thus there were certain things that she shouldn't do. But again, that wasn't Austria, that was her! It was all her… But… what Ottoman Empire said about what she would have done before she became a girl… was also true…_

_ Hungary heard the soft rustling of fabric and knew the Ottoman Empire was coming closer. However, when she sat up straight from her keeled-over position, she did __**not**__ expect to find his large arms wrapping around her and ensnaring her in his embrace and she froze in terror. This was not the first time she'd been hugged as a girl or even by a grown man. Spain had been very fond of just hugging her straight out of the blue whenever he came by, especially when Austria was nearby, but it was always meant to be friendly and playful. This one by Ottoman Empire was something wholly more intimate and unexpected. She didn't know how to react._

"_You don't have to let him keep controlling your feelings like this, Hungary," he'd whispered, "You can end this pain by eliminating the source of your troubles." Hungary would have liked to retort that he was __**also**__ a source of her troubles, but he just kept right on talking. "Austria can be subdued, Hungary, and once he is, then he can no longer control you and you can be free from what ails you."_

"_Tsk. As if I could take on Austria all by myself even if I wanted to," Hungary said with disdain and forcefully pulled herself away from Ottoman Empire to glare at him. "I'm not stupid, I saw what happened to Bohemia when she got uppity with Austria and threw those guys of his out the window because of the religious question. That little stunt she pulled brought most of Europe into the Thirty Years' War and she was viciously suppressed very early on in the war as well. And don't tell me that __**you**__ can do it either. You already tried and failed to take his capital in 1529, or did you forget?"_

_The mask made it difficult to tell, but she thought his mouth was thinner than usual as he stood up and said, "No, Hungary, I haven't forgotten. But this will be different. This time, you aren't in chaos over your gender identity or a question of succession. You are of solid mind and you know exactly what you want: to stop Austria from trying to limit your religious freedom, there's nothing wrong with that. Many of your people are already in rebellion against Austria; giving them your support will only increase your chances of success. And I will provide extra military support for your decision, of course."_

_It instantly ticked her off that he already assumed she was going to join in the rebellion and fight against Austria, but despite that, her heart did ache all too often these days and for seemingly no reason, except that it was definitely Austria's fault. "You're sure that… this pain will go away if I do? That my mind will no longer be troubled by these confusing feelings?"_

"_I assure you by my name as the Ottoman Empire," he promised as he removed the huge (but pretty cool-looking) hat from his head and gave her a sweeping bow._

What a fool she'd been. He'd only used her and her rebellion as a pretext for his Grand Vizier to send word to the Sultan for the Ottoman Army to 'aid' her and once again, make an attempt for the capture of Vienna. She hadn't seen Austria at all during her rebellion and didn't know whether he was fighting or not, and she _certainly_ hadn't seen him when his capital, his heart, was placed under siege for the second time by the Ottoman Empire. All that she knew of what happened within during that two-month siege was all from secondhand sources, the Ottomans and the Viennese who'd survived, and Italy's account of what he'd experienced, child though he was. A desperate situation growing bleaker by the day and yet, they'd refused to give in. Unrelenting, unwavering, a stubborn determination to hold out until the bitter end, truly a frightful situation; that was Austria during that time.

Later, she learned some things from her sorta-adopted son. Italy had complained less about his hunger than usual because he saw that Austria would give him most of his own meager offerings of food while hardly taking anything for himself. They were all suffering. Austria was also more short-tempered than normal, prone to mutterings and talking to himself in a low growl; Italy had never seen him so angry for so long. She didn't know how accurate the last bit Italy had told her was, but he also claimed that there was one time when he heard Austria say, 'When she's here, the world turns upside down and nothing makes sense anymore; there's too much color splashed haphazardly across the canvas. But then when she's gone, she takes the color of the world along with her and the canvas is suddenly empty.'

As Ottoman Empire had promised, before the Great Turkish War was done, the pain was gone from her heart and her mind was no longer troubled by her emotions, though not in the way he'd intended. They had been resolved and given her a happier answer than the one that Ottoman Empire had provided. To put it in Italy's words, she was the color to the canvas that was Austria's soul.

()()()()()()()

_31 October, 1986_

Mutti wasn't doing good. Mutti was wrong. Kádár didn't want to help Mutti, he wanted to hurt her. Kugelmugel had always believed this. Now he _knew_ it was true. If Kádár _really_ wanted Mutti better, he wouldn't hurt her. Mutti was hurting a lot. He and Mutti missed Vati, but they were still okay. But today was different. Today, Mutti was _not_ okay. It started when Mutti woke up and Kugel had woken up too when he heard her crying, but it was a bad kind. This year, he had gotten to sleep next to Mutti, so he saw that Mutti was more more sad. Her voice was choked and she couldn't seem to breathe and she kept whimpering Vati's name. Kugel was scared. He'd never seen Mutti cry like this. Mutti wasn't supposed to cry. He didn't know what to do.

"Mutti?" he said quietly and touched her arm with one tiny hand.

Mutti looked up and her eyes were full of tears that were still falling very quickly. "Kugel… baby, I'm sorry," she said. She was trying to breathe slowly now. "I woke you up, didn't I?"

"Well, nein Mutti, you did, but Mutti sad," Kugel replied.

"I'm so sorry, Kugel," Mutti repeated as she sat up on her knees and she pulled him into a _very_ tight hug. "Mutti's sorry that she's like this, but it was this day in 1918 that your Vati and I were divorced. What happened to both of us immediately after that was the worst Hell that we'd ever experienced. We were both _so _very alone and so weak and life was so hopeless that we could see no way out of the darkness that had smothered us. But several years ago... your vater made a promise. He promised that on the anniversary of our divorce, we would never be alone. We would spend it together, all twenty-four hours of it. But… for three out of the past five years, he hasn't been able to keep it, and it's not his fault, but Kugel, your Mutti can't stand it!" Mutti broke off suddenly and hugged him even tighter as she was assaulted by another wave of tears, getting his shoulder wet, and several shudders convulsed down her body. When she was breathing a bit more normal, she continued, "Every…! Every year without him, your Mutti remembers all that ruined our marriage… broke apart our family… and ruined our lives. It's still too soon… too soon for the pain to have eased. It hasn't even been a whole century yet, and it was far too much. _Far _too much!"

Kugel hugged his mother back, but still felt awkward. He didn't know how to stop Mutti crying. "It be okay soon, Mutti," he said, "Next January soon. Please be okay, Mutti."

"Thank you, Kugel. Thank you," she said breathlessly, but she still did not let go for a long time.

Hungary could not function for the entire day, though she made her best effort for her son's sake, just as she'd done the _other_ two years that she'd been alone on this day. She didn't think of herself as a dependent woman, but when it came to this day, she simply _could not_ go through it without Austria being nearby, not anymore. In the first half of the century, there had simply been too many other, much more immediate, horrible things going on that she'd had to deal with and suffer through; but those years had since passed her and they seemed to be coming to a close as they reached ever closer to the end of this bloody century.

She was scarred both emotionally _and_ physically, both of which she knew were obvious to Austria; he'd been similarly scarred. They had both discovered these new scars on their bodies when they'd resumed their sexual intimacy with each other. There were so many, they were practically marred, but that first time, just as he always did whenever they picked up their old relationship after the last time they'd bitterly fought each other, Austria would always kiss those new scars he found on her, whether he was the cause of them or not, no matter how ugly or jagged.

But he wasn't here now, and her mental-emotional scars were just as real as the physical ones, and it would take quite a while yet before she was completely recovered, perhaps. Maybe in a century or two, she could look back on the… the whole century almost, as nothing more than an awful memory in her past. One not to be forgotten, but one that would no longer plague her everyday life with the potential threat of collapsing her into the hysteria of those destructive, war-ravaged decades. For now, the only comfort she had, apart from the blessed distracting nature of caring for her son, was in the warmth of the simple silver band of metal that she wore on a chain around her neck, Austria's wedding ring. He had hers, they'd exchanged them upon their divorce, taking a token piece of the other before they didn't see each other again for at least several years, and the fact that _his_ was so warm, meant that he was holding tightly onto hers. Yes, he needed that support as much as she did. Austria couldn't get through this day alone any better than she could, and that at least warmed her heart to know that he cared so much.

"Mutti, Vati here?" Kugel asked suddenly.

Hungary looked startled and quite rightly so. "No, cicám, he's not. We can't see him this year, remember?" She quickly reached for his wedding band and squeezed it tightly. If only…

"I know, but I felt him," Kugel insisted, though he himself looked rather unsure. "I felt Vati standing there and it was like he hugged me and whispered, 'I'll be home soon.' Except, he not stand there. It was like a wind spirit touching softly, but, but, not enough to have strong feel, but felt good and warm."

Hungary looked thoughtful as she gazed at her son. It was a possibility. If Austria was actually touching the land/structure/thing that Kugel represented, then Kugelmugel would feel it, but that may be too great an assumption. She didn't want to get her son's hopes up if they weren't true. "Maybe it was, sweetie. Maybe it was."

* * *

_(1) Der Feber (Austrian German) – February_

_(2) Der Jänner (Austrian German) – January_

_UM! I was in a super AusHun-shippy mode when I wrote this and UH! It was an excuse to talk about the Ottoman-Habsburg rivalry (and get to say that Austria and Turkey were fighting over Hungary! *has no shame*) that I've been reading about in a book that I got that not only talks about the Siege of Vienna of 1683, but the events leading up to it, starting with the arrival of the Turks into Europe! And that was only in the Prologue! ! ! XDD_

_Hm. I do like Turkey a lot, he's a pretty cool guy, but I'm not sure if the way I handled him was quite satisfactory for people who don't know what I was thinking and trying to do. I did not change Turkey's character; however, Turkey has been presented with a situation in which he can take advantage of to further his own goals in Europe and Austria has been standing in his way for over 150 years (so he doesn't like him all that much), but he may finally be able to remove him from the picture, hence why his character may seem a little too stern in this chapter._

_I like mentioning Bohemia throwing people out the window (Defenestration of Prague)! :D I have way too much saying that! I acutally don't know if I've mentioned that on anything I've already posted, but I've been working on a fic focusing on Prussia from approximately 1525 to 1701, and so I've already got to finish touching upon the Thirty Years' War in that one (and now I'm stuck on how to advance the section on the Great Elector)._

_Since most of Hungary was under Ottoman rule since 1529, and Austria only got a tiny piece, I don't think it would be really fair to say that Hungary lived entirely with Austria during those years, so that's where I get my 1:2 month ratio. So… I hope I didn't make it too vague, I tried to use Italy to help out with that, but Austria and Hungary love each other before 1681, and they just don't realize it, so they're frustrated, they argue, their improperly-placed emotions get the best of them and bam! We have rebellion! (or at least this time around) However, as Hungary implied (hopefully not too vaguely?), they did finally resolve the question of their feelings and figure out that they loved each other before the end of the Great Turkish War. Go Austria! Oh! Fun fact! That war was the first time that Russia had ever formally joined an alliance of European powers (must have been a very exciting time for him :D)._

_So because I'm evil, I had Hungary going through all that (I based that entire scene off of memories I have of when I was younger and my own mom just lost it emotionally), but now my evilness is drained out (as well as my energy) and I MAY be able to post the next (last?) actual chapter tomorrow (today?! o.o)_


	8. Chapter 8

**_Important Author's Note_: Haha, I'm evil! I wrote a piece that actually happens on October 31st when Austria and Hungary aren't together, HOWEVER! ... It is not in this chapter, I added it in last night at the very end of the previous chapter because it was too short to be its own chapter, but it didn't fit with the emotions of this one either. So if you've already read that chapter without this evil new addition, just go to the last "()()()()()" that you see and start from there, because that's new stuff and it ended up being a bit important in relation to this chapter too.**

* * *

_23 August 1989_

"But Mutti, you should come too!" Kugel pleaded as he tugged on his mother's hands as if he would drag her to the west himself. "You released all the border restrictions on Vati so that I can see what I look like, so Mutti should come too! Bitte! Bitte! Bitte!"

"Kugel, I'd love to, but I've kind of got a beer-drunk idiot uncle of yours that I have to deal with first," Hungary said with a grimace and glared at the passed-out albino German idiot that seemed to exist just to cause trouble for her. He'd been with them since the Pan-European picnic that she and Austria had held on the 19th just four days ago, and he hadn't gone back home yet because he wanted to make sure that she actually held up her promise to let the West German diplomats hand out passports among all the East German refugees that had also come to the picnic (hence, why he was here in the first place).

"The fool will be fine enough on his own," Austria said with a derisive snort, "And I must agree with Kugelmugel on this. Hungary, you absolutely _must_ come with us, even if only for a couple days. This is an important moment that we need to share together as a family. We've been separated off and on too much this century as it is. I realize that a lot has been happening this year, but your government isn't going to suddenly stop functioning because you're not there. Besides, I _know_ how much you've missed Vienna."

Perhaps it was against her better judgment, but she couldn't help herself. Not only was Austria making a valid argument, but he was smiling. He'd been smiling a lot this year; so many good things had happened, and he had such a nice smile too. In the end, Hungary just couldn't resist the trip. As incredible as it was with the rapidly-changing political atmospheres, her family was _much_ more important right now.

"Alright, you two, you've convinced me! Let's get going then!" she said with a jovial smile as she grabbed her ex-husband's and son's hands and dragged them off to where the car was parked to cross the border that was no longer a barrier.

()()()()()()()

"Mutti, will I see nővérem (1) today?" Kugel asked her suddenly whilst turning away from the window he was peering so intently through earlier. He was now at the point in his life when he could understand both his parents' languages and was no longer restricted to only speaking one of them in a certain location, thus, he would often use a specific word from the other language if it had no better equivalent in the one he was currently using.

"Liechtenstein?" Hungary asked and her face contorted into an unhappy expression. They had Kugel, but they couldn't ever have Liech back, not the way they used to.

Austria squeezed her hand in reassurance and replied with seemingly perfect calm, "We probably won't, Kugelmugel. Liechtenstein's been living with one of your other uncles, Switzerland, the one who gave me that red beret to give to you as soon as I saw you after you were born."

"This?" Kugel repeated as he took the hat off his head and examined it with newfound wonder. He'd since attached one of the stamps that he'd created to the left side, but the hat was still well-cared for nonetheless.

"Ühüm (2). I'm sure Liechtenstein helped out with picking it for you as a present."

Kugel smiled shyly and curled his finger around his stray hair curl out of embarrassment. "Schwester (3) did… Well, will I be able to meet her soon?" the physically-four-and-a-half-year-old child asked his two parents… both of which were in old-fashioned clothes, but had good artistic composition with each other.

"Hopefully," Hungary said with a smile. "I'm going to call Liechtenstein as soon as we get to Vati's house and tell her all about you, my adorable little son," she added with a tap of the boy's nose.

"Goodie, I can't wait!" Kugel exclaimed and bounced in his seat for another few minutes before looking out the window again at all the new scenery he was missing.

Kugelmugel absolutely adored his older sister even though he'd never met her. Even when he was young, he'd wanted to be just like her. Austria had learned that _this_ was the reason his son was growing his hair long and wearing it in braids. All the pictures that Hungary had of Liechtenstein and their family were of when she had her long and braided. It was such a pity that she'd cut it so short; it was very much like Hungary's, except for the color being lighter, and one couldn't see the similarities as well in the short, choppy hair style that Switzerland always used for his own hair. He had also taken an interest in stamps because of Liechtenstein, who always had such artistically-interesting stamps, that he had not only begun to collect them, but design his own as well, as proven by the stamp smacked onto the front of his beret.

The closer they got, the more Kugel's excitement grew, to the point where he looked like he would simply explode from his contained energy when at long last, they arrived with Kugel's face plastered to the window of the car as he stared in awe at the manor where his vati lived. It was beautiful! Much bigger than where he lived with Mutti, and so elaborate! Vati's Volkswagen, which was the car he was driving, was cool, but that manor was on a different level! To Kugel's low standards, it looked like something a high-ranking nobleman would live in! And his sister was born in the Hofburg Palace?! Kugel didn't get how anyone could get used to that kind of living!

"You _live_ here, Vati?" he finally managed to breathe.

"For nearly a century, igen," Vati said causally as he got out of the car, and Kugel took that as a sign that he could get out too. He felt stiff. He'd never sat for so long before. "I've lived here off and on throughout this century depending on the times, and your anya and I would come here sometimes when we were married and mostly when Anya got too fed-up with Sophie to deal with her civilly."

"Hey, you! It's not _my_ fault that Fanz Josef's mother hated me!" Hungary retorted vehemently.

"Can we go inside now?" Kugel interrupted, already bored of his parents' bickering-in-the-making.

"Persze!" (4) Hungary said happily and Kugel grabbed her hand as they walked to the front door. "And then after we show you around inside, we can take you to see what you look like and explore Apa's heart a little; sound good?"

"Jah, Anya!" (5) Kugel said happily and his mother opened the door for him.

If he'd been stunned by the exterior of the manor, it was nothing compared to the interior! His violet eyes bulged in their sockets as they quickly shifted from the floors, to the furniture, to the walls, to the ceiling, to the windows, and everything in between! It was just… it was so…! Kugelmugel couldn't even _begin_ to describe how… how… how super, super freaking cool this place was! ! ! He barely heard his mother leave them to call his sister or his father tell him to follow so that he could show him around. And the interior decoration of each of the rooms he was led into…! All distinctly different with their own purpose and color scheme, but their composition was just so _perfect_ and despite the fact that no two rooms had the same dominant color scheme, they all had a feeling of unity and belonging together as a whole, so that he couldn't just take out one room and still have a completed work of art. This whole house was just… a _masterpiece_!

"Did_ you_ do all of this, Apa?!" Kugel asked at last in astounded bewilderment, though his timing was rather random.

"Pardon? Do what?" Austria asked, more than a little confused.

"The decorating for all the rooms!" Kugel exclaimed as if that was the most obvious thing ever. "I-I-It's incredible! No, no, the other word. Bácsi (6) Prussia's word. Awesome! It's awesome! Did you?"

Austria flinched slightly at his son's use of Prussia's favorite word. He knew it. Prussia was a contagion. His son has only been exposed to him for four whole days and he'd already quickly picked up on some of Prussia's language (if he found that Kugelmugel had learned any… _other _more _colorful_ words from his foul-mouthed older brother, then there was going to be Hell to pay, and he wouldn't be content to only let Hungary punish him for that).

But back to Kugel's question. "I didn't actually put everything into place, but I did help design the overall interior layout with your anya. I was in charge of the artistic aesthetic and she was in charge of the practicality placement; it was a joint collaborative effort."

Kugel could only stare up at him in wonder. He knew his vati liked to dress in fashionably-old clothes (and Mutti did too whenever she was with him, otherwise she tended to dress a bit more modern) that had a certain aesthetic to them, but he had no idea that his vati was so artistic! He knew his vati loved music more than anything except Mutti; he had brought the violin over to Mutti's house more than once after that evil year of no-Vati had finally finished, and he was very good, but Kugel had no idea that Vati had a keen eye for the other arts! He felt that he would quickly grow to love his vati's heart and he hadn't even begun to see the pretty city yet.

"Ausztriaaaaaa, (7) I finished my phone call to Liech!" Mutti called up to them from down the stairs, "Are you finished giving the grand tour?"

"Yes, Hungary!" Vati shouted back and nudged him in the direction of the stairs, directions that Kugel obeyed willingly obeyed.

When the two of them got down the stairs, Mutti was waiting for them down there, smiling very happily and her cheeks were flushed red with happiness. "Something good happen, Mutti?"

Mutti's smile broadened and she suddenly swooped down and hugged him tightly. "_Very _good, fiam! (8) I haven't talked to your sister for decades. I haven't even _seen _her since the 1930s when the Great Depression hit us, before World War II. But I was telling her all about you and how super _cute_ you are, and when I did, she decided that she was going to come and see you as soon as she could, so you'll get to see your older sister soon, my little artist!"

"Yay! I'll get to see Nővérkém (9) soon!" Kugelmugel exclaimed and suddenly turned his joyful face upon his father. "Vati, let's go see what I look like! Now, bitte?!"

Vati smiled down at him and gave him a single head nod. Kugel had nearly bolted out the door with that one permissive action alone, but what held him back was the fact that he had no idea where his body was. Kugelmugel was still a very young nation, micronation though he was, so he didn't quite understand all about how his body worked in relation to what it was he represented. No matter where he was, he would always carry the subconscious knowledge of the relative position of his land or people, and what it was happening to it at every moment. That being said, he would always know where his nation was even if he'd never set eyes on it before and he would recognize it as himself for without it and the humans, he would not have been given life. If Kugel had just dashed out of the house without a thought and just followed where his feet had directed him, then he would have found himself standing before his body and recognized it as such. But Kugelmugel was a good, conscientious child and he would wait for his parents to accompany him, even if he _did_ feel they were being too slow. Kugelmugel knew he wouldn't be able to remember his way back, but Vati's heart _was_ gorgeous! Mutti's heart was beautiful too, but not in the same way as Vati's! Both hearts were beautiful and Kugel couldn't decide which one he thought was prettier! Kugel didn't realize it, but they had been walking for ten minutes longer than was necessary to actually get there, but it was because of that incident of lostness that they ran into somebody that Kugel didn't recognize, but that both Mutti and Vati were very happy to see.

"Mr. Austria! Ms. Hungary!" a young-looking auburn-haired man shouted from far away and he was running towards them very fast!

"Feli! !" they both exclaimed and Mutti broke away from them to meet the oncoming stranger halfway.

When they met up, she gave him a quick kiss to the cheek in greeting before hugging him and fawning over him the way that Kugel was familiar with her doing only to him. She didn't even act like that toward Vati. Curious, Kugel looked up at his father's face to see how he would react to Mutti's weird behavior with this person, but his expression wasn't annoyed like it was whenever he and Onkel Preußen were in the same room. Instead, he was smiling a little and looked proud. Why?

"And Mr. Austria too!" said the auburn-haired man called Feli. Was he a country too? Was that how he knew who his vati and mutti were? He didn't remember any countries called Feli. Kugel wished he knew the names of countries _apart _from those in the Eastern bloc and his family members. "I heard about the picnic that you and Ms. Hungary were having from Germany. Is it already over?"

Vati gave a sigh of exasperation and immediately started scolding him, "Italy, you're fortunate that there weren't any people close enough to have heard your loud declaration of our identities to the world, or else who knows how out of hand things can get. It was bad enough during the Middle Ages when the average man and woman would have thought we were witches or devils sent by Satan to corrupt them, simply because of our unnaturally-long lives. In this day and age, technology is advancing so rapidly that secondhand information can spread within days to increasingly-large numbers of people and you'll never be given a moment's peace if your secret gets out. Also, fortunately for all of us, people tend to be a bit more skeptical and realistically wouldn't think anything of it, but make sure to think and act with more discretion befitting a man of your stature and rank, Italy. Also, the picnic was four days ago."

"Ve, you're angry again! Really? I missed it? That's a shame." Kugel frowned up at Italy (okay, so his real name was Italy) in confusion. Vati has just scolded him, in a way that he had _never _heard Vati scold someone before (not even him or Prussia!) and he just brushed it aside like it was nothing! "I was hoping to be able to get there on time, but at least I got to see my Mamma and Papà anyway!"

He? Mi?! (10)

"Yes, it's good to see you," Vati said all formal-like, but he was still smiling a little.

"I've missed you so much, Italy!" Mutti gushed and spontaneously-hugged Italy again.

"Me too! Me too! Anche, Mamma sembra così bella oggi! Quel vestito blu ti accompagna bene e tu ti accordi con Papà pure!" (11) Italy said and was speaking a language that Kugel had never even heard before, not to mention that he was waving his arms about so much that he wondered why his parents weren't concerned that this Italian person might hit them.

Kugelmugel pulled on his vati's coat to get his attention and asked, "Vati, what's he saying? And why'd he call you and Mutti 'Papà' and 'Mamma'? Is he bátyám?" (12)

Italy suddenly turned his eyes- um… his closed eyes – onto him and his eyes suddenly opened (they were a copper-brown color) which he guessed was a rare thing because both Mutti and Vati gasped and said simultaneously 'His eyes are open!', and Italy's smile widened.

"Oh! Servus! (13) I didn't see you there, I'm so sorry! I'm Italy Veneziano, but you can just call me Italy like everyone else does. Only mio fratello (14) calls me Veneziano. So what's your name?"

"I'm… I'm Kugelmugel," he said quietly, feeling shy in the presence of this friendly man.

"Oh, _you're_ Kugelmugel! Austria's micronation!" Italy exclaimed, "I just thought it was a big orange-red ball! I didn't realize that it actually meant you! Io non seppi che tu eri così carina!" (15)

Italy reached out to him suddenly and Kugelmugel suddenly found himself trapped in Italy's hug and he was rubbing his cheek against him, and repeating 'carina' over and over. He was frozen in terror and his fingers twitched helplessly with his uncertainty. Mutti did stuff like this too, but this person was a complete stranger to him! Strangers shouldn't be so friendly and touchy like this! He didn't like this!

"So this means…" Italy started and then looked up at Vati, who was standing right next to them, "that I have another sorellina!" (16)

"Ah…" Kugel managed to twist his head around just in time to look up and see the exasperated expression on Vati's face before he said, "No, Italy, you're mistaken. Kugelmugel is a boy."

"Wahh! ! !" Italy immediately jumped back and started talking so fast that Kugel could barely catch the words, even though he was speaking German, and he was crying a waterfall, "Oh no, I'msorry! I'msorry! I'msorry! I'msosorry! Ididn't knowyouwere a girl- Imean a boy! Youwerejust socutethat I thoughtyouwere a girlandplease don't hurtme, I havefamilyfromVienna, it's a reallyniceplace, andI'mso weakandpathetic thatI can'teven tie myownshoelaces withoutfallingdown orgettingmy fingersstuck in theknot, and-!"

"Italy, knock it off this instant!" Vati interrupted sharply and Kugelmugel was impressed with how instantly Italy subsided. Then his vati continued in a more gentle tone as he knelt down in front of the sniffling country and placed a hand upon his auburn-haired head. "It's not as big a deal as you're making it out to be, so you don't need to apologize and explain yourself like your life depends on it. You're not at war and Kugelmugel will never be your enemy. He's my son and he will be your fratellino (17) just like how you declared that Liechtenstein would be your sorellina the very day that she was born. Now pick yourself up and look smart. A young man of your status and age shouldn't still be collapsing into hysterics like a frightened rabbit," he said as he got to his own feet and dragged Italy up with him.

"Ve, grazie Mr. Austria," Italy said weakly and then turned to look back down at Kugelmugel, who was _very _tempted to jump behind his vati and hide from him. "I'm sorry for the way I overreacted Kugelmugel. But you _are_ a very cute child. Hey, you're just like me when I was little! I was so cute that according to your Mamma, even your Papà thought that I was a girl!"

"Really?! _Vati_ did? ! !" Kugel exclaimed and his violet eyes shot up to his father's for confirmation, but Vati wasn't looking at him and he was very red in the face.

"Th-That's enough of that, you fool!" he directed at Italy and muttered something that sounded like 'traitor' to Mutti.

"Alright, Italy, let's not tease Austria anymore today. I don't think he could handle anymore of his great blunder," Mutti told Italy with a smile and a wink. "We were planning on seeing Kugelmugel before we ran into you. Would you like to come along with us, Italy?"

"Ve, can I?!" he asked excitedly, "Si, I would love to Ms. Hungary! But… were you trying to reach it coming from Mr. Austria's house? You already passed it. It's in Wiener Prater."

"_Wiener Prater_, Austria?" Mutti said with a dumbfounded expression.

And that was the day that Kugelmugel learned just how literal his Mutti had been when she said that Vati had absolutely _no_ sense of direction.

()()()()()()

"So Kugel, I heard that Mr. Austria's last Crown Prince was one of the organizers of the picnic, did you get to meet him?"

"Do you mean Doktor Otto von Habsburg? J-jå, I met him!" Kugel replied as he recalled with vivid clarity how just days ago, he'd come face-to-face with the Head of Vati's imperial family, a regular human who had been alive, though just a kid, when his parents were still married, an event that seemed an impossibly-long time ago. It was an overwhelming feeling for the young micronation to be in the presence of such esteemed company. And yet, when Doktor Otto had said that one thing to him, he knew he'd liked him:

"_Otto, I would like to present my son, the Republik Kugelmugel," Vati said with a gesture towards him where he just barely stood wanting to hide behind his vati's legs, but not actually following through with that desire. "Kugelmugel, this is his Imperial and Royal Highness Crown Prince Otto of Austria, Hungary, Bohemia, and Croatia."_

"_It-It's good to meet you, your Imperial Highness!" Kugel squeaked, though did his best to sound mature like Vati, and bowed __**very**__ low from the waist._

"_No, it's a pleasure for __**me**__ to meet the son of the former Austrian Empire," Otto said and gently pushed Kugelmugel back up into a standing position. Kugel watched in a state of near-reverence as the Crown Prince lowered himself down and peered intently into his eyes. At last, he said, "Your hair may be a little strange, but you definitely look like your Vater. You have the same face."_

"_Ah, d-danke," Kugel stammered, quickly gripping Vati's fingers for mental support. Doktor Otto seemed like a nice man, but Kugel just couldn't handle being around strange people too well._

_Otto then smiled gently at him and said, "Kugelmugel, in reflection, it would seem that we two are very similar."_

"_Similar?" Kugel repeated and tilted his head in confusion. How could he similar to this important man. They were both Austrian, was that it?_

"_Yes, Kleines Kind. (18) We're both the sons of great men and the heirs to fallen kingdoms that we're unable to reclaim."_

_ Kugel's heart suddenly lifted at these words, like something had clicked into place. He didn't really understand what happened in his parents' history, and he knew their lives were very long, but here was someone, just a normal human, who was there for a small piece of it and a feeling of kinship spread through him as he continued to stare up at the aged Crown Prince. Maybe he hadn't been there when his father's power was broken like Otto was for his own father's, but he was still affected by it decades after the fact._

"_D-Doktor Otto," Kugel exclaimed suddenly, but then his voice dropped back down to a timid level. "Would… would you… I want to call you mein Bruder-Freund!" (19)_

"_I would be honored, Sohn von Österreich," (20) Otto replied._

()()()()()()

"Otto's my Bruder-Freund!" Kugel announced to Italy, very proud of himself.

"Oh wow! You're so close already, that was quick!" Italy exclaimed. "So you like art, don't you?"

"Of course I do! Life is art!" Kugel declared emphatically.

"Ooh, you _are _an artist! I want to see your art when you get a chance to show me! I'll even bring over some of my art for you to see the next time I come to see you. Big Brother France also has some really-!"

"Nein!"

"Nem!"

Both jumped at the strong double negative and Italy squeaked in terror. Kugel could understand why. Vati looked _extremely _irritated, a feat only ever brought about by Big Brother Prussia and Mutti's entire body was surrounded by a murderous dark pink aura while muttering under her breath too quietly for him to hear.

"M-Mr. Austria? Ms. Hungary?" Italy chirped timidly.

"Sorry Italy, but I will absolutely not allow Kugelmugel to see France," Austria said darkly, "His art may be impressive, but his moral boundaries are rather too lacking when it comes to young boys."

"O-Okay," Italy said, voice somewhat subdued.

Kugel didn't understand his vati's reasoning – France put his wall paintings in other peoples' houses and on boys like him? (he misheard 'moral' as 'mural') – but Vati's expression said that the subject was finished and Mutti still looked murderous, so he didn't try to seek out further explanation.

"Ooh! We're close! We're close!" Italy shouted suddenly and ran ahead a few meters before stopping and waving back at them. "I know where it is, we're super close, follow me! Come on Kugelmugel, let's run there!"

Only his German-born-and-learned discipline kept him from bolting on the spot to join his new big brother _before_ he looked up at his parents with wide hopeful eyes for their permission (at least they no longer looked scary). "Bitte Mutti? Vati?"

"Go on my little artist," Mutti said with a smile and a laugh and gave him a slight push towards Italy. "We'll be there shortly; you go have fun with your big brother."

And Kugel was gone from their side so fast, he left a dust cloud of himself behind in his place.

"Wow, you're as quick as me when I retreat!" Italy exclaimed in surprise, "Let's race there!"

"But I can't race you if I don't know where I'm going," Kugel pointed out.

"Oh, right. Well, we should definitely race sometime, si! Follow me now; your body's this way! Just shout if you can't keep up!"

Italy started running, but not too fast, and Kugel was able to keep up pretty well just a few paces behind him. Kugelmugel didn't know it, but Italy was careful to watch him from the corner of his eye. Mr. Austria wasn't that active, but Ms. Hungary was, and he didn't know if Kugelmugel was more like Papà or Mamma in that manner. He didn't want his fratellino to pass out from exercising too much to keep up. But it wasn't long before Italy saw the structure looming up ahead. That big, impressive red sphere.

"Kugelmugel, there it is! Right over there, look! You can see it from here! That big orangey-red thing, that's you!" Italy stopped and pointed.

"That's me?" Kugel repeated, staring transfixed at the ball for a few moments before he looked up at Italy and smiled, "I'll race you there! Readysetgo!"

"Hey, wait! That's no fair, you got a head start!" Italy protested pointlessly before chasing after the young micronation right up until they stood before the fence that surrounded the property and closed it off from the rest of the surrounding country. "Here we are, Kugelmugel!"

"That's… That's me…" Kugel repeated and his heart pounded heavily in his chest.

Very vaguely, he remembered feeling like this only once before. It was back when he'd first met his Vati and been called by his true name, even though he didn't actually remember it. He was not consciously aware of his feet moving him closer to the reddish-orange sphere with its symmetrically-placed rectangular windows until his face was pressed against the fence and he gripped it tightly with his small fingers. A whimper escaped his throat. He wanted to get closer – he needed to – but he couldn't and it upset him. It was so _big_ and _beautiful_ and _artistic_, and it was_ him_! A hand fell gently upon his beret and he knew it was his vati's, but he looked up at him all the same with a helpless longing in his violet eyes that only other nations could ever fully understand.

"Remember when I was finally allowed to come back to you and Mutti in '87 and you told me that there were times when you felt I was right there beside you like a ghost or a wind spirit?" Vati asked and Kugelmugel nodded. "Well, those were the times that I was literally with you, my son. My little micronation may be closed off to the public, but do you really think that the authorities would be able to keep him fenced off away from his own Vater?" he said as a smile spread on his face and he pulled out what must have been the key to opening the red-and-white upward-arrow-striped door and Kugel waited with breathless anticipation for Vati to open the door and finally let him enter. The door opened and Vati stepped aside. "After we're done here, we'll try and find your president so that I can acquaint you two. Come inside, Kugelmugel, Hungary, Italy. Only family is allowed this rare privilege of stepping within these borders. Willkommen." (21)

Naturally, Kugel entered the premises first as it _was_ his official home, though he had never seen it until now. He stared up at the structure, his violet eyes transfixed upon the sphere like he never wanted to take his eyes off it. With his arms stretched out before him and his fingers splayed wide, Kugel took the last teansy step forward and his palms touched the surface for the first time. Something reminiscent of an electric current or a strong blast of air being funneled through a tunnel immediately shot through his arms and slammed into his chest, predominantly his heart, and a high-pitched winded gasp escaped his throat as he stumbled backward.

Three simultaneous shouts of "Kugel!" erupted into the air and somebody quickly caught him before he hit the ground, but he didn't know who yet. His chest hurt and he was breathing heavily to get back the air he'd lost.

"Waaah! Kugelmugel, don't die!" Italy panicked somewhere in front of him to his left. "You're too young to die! I haven't even taught you how to make white flags or pick-up girls!"

"You fool, he doesn't need to know such useless things!" Vati exclaimed indignantly and his voice came from his right.

"You two, quiet!" Mutti ordered from above his head and he realized belatedly that she was the one who'd caught him. "You're too loud right now. Are you okay, Kugel? Is it any better? Does it still hurt?"

"Yes, Mutti, but I better now," Kugel replied as he finally opened his eyes to see the concerned adults above him. Italy was so relieved, he was crying again. His own breathing and heartbeat were slower now and he could sit up too. "I feel different. I feel stronger inside, Mutti, and I… I…" he sniffled a little and rubbed at his eyes, surprised that they were wet. "Mutti, I'm crying!" he exclaimed, completely twisting his body around to show her, "But I'm not sad? Is it okay to cry when not sad?"

"_Igen_, cicám," Mutti said softly and she pulled him into a warm hug. "You can cry when you're happy. It's perfectly alright. They're tears of joy."

"I'm happy. I'm happy! Mutti, I'm so happy! Vati, look, I'm happy!" he said as he turned his head with some difficulty towards his father with that expressive, lively smile of his, his mother's smile.

"Oooh, I'm happy too, Kugelmugel! Hey, Mamma, can I join the hug?" Italy asked.

"Of course you can, my other son," Mutti said and she unwrapped one arm from around him to reach out to Italy, who actually included Kugel in his own hug around his mother. The three of them soon found their heads all being drawn together until they met Vati's and their heads now made something like a four-point star while his arms were around everyone as best as he could manage. Everything felt good and happy and comfortable now.

Hungary released a heavy, but happy sigh as her mind wandered to the tentative future that they must still endure, yet content to view it from a distance while in the soul-soothing company of her long-time lover and her two sons. It had taken them eight years to get their son here to Vienna to be united with his land, but it was all worth it. She and Austria still couldn't live together, so Kugel would constantly have to change his place of residence from one parent's house to the other throughout the year, but at least they could do that without trouble now. It seemed that things were finally starting to look up for them and their little family.

* * *

_For all the Italian sentences, I am **very** proud to say that I constructed them all by myself, having never taken a single class in Italian, with the help of wordreference. com as my dictionary, websites about Italian grammar tenses, reflexives, and conjugations, and my knowlege of French to be able to pull it all off! XD_

_(1) nővérem (Hungarian) - my older sister (there's a slightly different word for just 'older sister')_

_(2) Ühüm (Hungarian) - just another way of saying 'yes' that's not 'igen'_

_(3) Schwester (German) - sister_

_(4) Persze! (Hungarian) - Of course!_

_(5) Jah (Hungarian) - slang of 'yes' (TOTALLY doesn't look like the German 'ja'- oh heck, the Hungarians borrowed a lot of German just like the English did with the French :P)_

_(6) Bácsi (Hungarian) - Uncle_

_(7) Ausztria (Hungarian) - Austria (oh yes, _**_another_**_ word we definitely couldn't figure out)_

_(8) fiam (Hungarian) - my son_

_(9) Nővérkém (Hungarian) - Older Sister (see? This is what I meant by it being a little different)_

_(10) He? Mi? (Hungarian) - Eh? What? (lol, I mostly put this in here because it's fun to say! XD)_

_(11) Anche, Mamma sembra così bella oggi! Quel vestito blu ti accompagna bene e tu ti accordi con Papà pure! (Italian) - Also, Mom looks so beautiful today. That blue dress looks good on you and you match with Dad too! (approximate translation) *is privately amused that the word for 'dress' in Italian is masculine whereas in French, it's feminine*_

_(12) bátyám (Hungarian) - my older brother_

_(13) Servus (German) - a form of 'Hello' much more common in Austria (yeah, the Hungarians borrowed that word too)_

_(14) mio fratello (Italian) - my brother_

_(15) Io non seppi che tu eri così carina (Italian) - I did not know you were so cute_

_(16) sorellina (Italian) - little sister (cute form)_

_(17) fratellino (Italian) - little brother (cute form)_

_(18) Kleines Kind (German) - little one/child_

_(19) mein Bruder-Freund (German) - my Brother-Friend (but really, who wouldn't have been able to guess that)_

_(20) Sohn von Österreich (German) - Son of Austria (btw, totes the coolest title written in German! XD)_

_(21) Willkommen (German) - Welcome_

_First of all, I realize that Kugel's internal voice probably sounds MUCH too old for his current physical age (it's like four or something in this chapter), but bleh, I was having a hard time with it while still conveying what I wanted to (and I'm totally pulling the 'he's a nation!' card to cover my butt for the rest of the argument :P)_

_The first part **ever** so slightly touched upon the Pan-European picnic mentioned in the second chapter of my "Two States in One Nation" (nothing big going on really and hardly even worth mentioning)._

_Wow! I swear, I had no idea that German cars in the '80s were BAMFs! They were like **really** well-made cars! Anyway, I picked Volkswagen because it's not a car that stands out and we used to have a Volkswagen, when I was young, that my mom was very fond of until something little happened to it and then it never got fixed because my dad is slow and stingy as hell (I'd say Netherlands-stingy, but Netherlands at least isn't a hypocrite)._

_Austria has proven himself to be an artistic man in more than just his music in the canon material; it was in the strip "In 2 minutes, you can grasp the exterior of the European economy" (and it took him three freaking hours just to make a single paper flower instead of Spain's method which would produce 30 flowers per hour), so I figure that he would have **definitely** had a hand in the design of his own house._

___No! Absolutely NOBODY can know that Kugelmugel is a boy without having been told or already guessing incorrectly! (you just ask yourself if **you** honestly thought that Kugelmugel was a boy when you first saw him [presuming you weren't already told in advance before you even saw him that is], cuz I know I sure as hell didn't!)_

_Otto von Habsburg..._ _I killed my heart writing that moment between him and Kugel, because I only found out recently that he died July 4, 2011, and I had just watched parts of the funeral and I just... I was this close to crying people, I really was, it was very sad to watch. The last Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary is gone after so long. I think he might have been the last surviving Imperial heir of the four empires (Russian, Ottoman, German, Austro-Hungarian) that were destroyed over the course of WWI. The man did a lot, even more than I'd before realized, so my respect goes out to him._

_And so this is the last chapter for this fic. I couldn't work on this chapter so much during the week, becaues literally school got in the way, but I had spent an entire month working almost nonstop to get this done (or mostly done) in time for Tima's birthday. So I hope you all enjoyed it, and I'm very happy to see that so many people 'followed' me to see how this story would turn out at least. I was legit impressed with such numbers (believe me, I don't usually get a lot of favorites/reviews for the things I write for Hetalia, so this one has been quite the pleasant surprise)._


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